This has been a very busy spring for weddings. So far me and my wife have attended or have been invited to six weddings and I’m sure there will be more as summer is almost here. When people go to weddings, there is usually some aspect of the wedding that they really focus on. For some it might be flowers, for others it might be the colors that the bride has chosen, for others it might be the music, and the list could go on and on. For me, I really focus on the service itself. I guess you could call me a geek but I really like to see what the couple wants to have in the wedding ceremony itself. What other elements do they want to have in the service other than exchanging vows and rings. Do they want to celebrate holy communion? Do they want to have a special prayer time? Do they want to have some poetry read? A marriage homily preached? What passage did they have read?
These things fascinate me for some reason. I guess you could say that it gives me some insight into the spiritualness of the couple. I really like it when a couple decides to go against the norm and really make the ceremony special.
A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of officiating my sister-in-law and her now husband’s wedding. It was a very beautiful ceremony. It was held outdoors and the yellow flowers in the field that filled the backdrop of where the ceremony was held, was just gorgeous. The weather had been stormy the day before but the clouds and the rain gave way to sun and you couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was just a beautiful day all the way around.
A few weeks before the ceremony itself, the couple asked for Colossians 3:12-17 to read instead of the traditional 1 Corinthians 13. Not that there is anything wrong with 1 Corinthians 13 but I really like it when couples choose another passage especially one that means something to them. One that speaks life into their marriage and one that as a couple they will use as a model for this new life together. I’m sure many couples over the years have chosen Colossians 3 as the passage for their wedding ceremony because it has the word “love” in it but if you read the passage closely it depicts a beautiful lifestyle that all of us should strive to live.
It says: “12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
Anytime Paul begins a passage with the word “so” or “therefore” you know he is about to make a very important statement. In this passage he begins by reminding the believers that they are holy and beloved. The word “holy” is not a word that you use very loosely when referring to somebody. To be “holy” means to be set apart which means not of this world. For a believer when you have been redeemed and brought into the family of God, you are no longer part of this world but you are an agent of the Kingdom of God. Just like anything else in life, if we want to remain in something we have to work to stay there. To stay in Christ, we have to daily die to self and follow him which is not easy but is what he is calling us to do. The beauty of it all is that God has created a way for us to stay there.
This holy lifestyle is not completely foreign to humanity. If we look back to Genesis 1:26-27 we see this beautiful picture of God creating us in his image and calling that good. It’s important to realize that we were not created to be like God but we have holiness DNA in us that we can be holy in our lifestyle but we realize.
In order for us to fully live out a life where compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness are evident there has to be something that is fueling that lifestyle. In the world none of these virtues are natural but when we are in the family of God, it is a natural outflow of holiness.
Paul reminds the believers that there is something much higher than these virtues that actually make living out these virtues possible. That higher source is love. Now the word love probably means something different to every person in the world. For some it is expression of two hearts coming together. For example when a man and a woman began to have feelings for each other and they fall madly in love and get married. For some, love is seen through the eyes of a brotherly or sisterly love. You may not be related by blood but you are you related because of a close connection shared through membership in a group.
There is a love that goes much deeper than either one of these. This love only makes sense if your heart has experienced it because otherwise it would sound crazy. This love is a selfless love, a love that is not self-seeking, a love that is not boasting but one that has no strings attached. It is the purest love possible and this is the love that fuels our ability to live out these virtues that Paul is encouraging the believers to live out.
When we experience this love, our hearts leap for joy because it is the love that our hearts were created to experience. This is the love that allows our hearts to be connected to its creator. This allows us to live out forgiveness, patience, gentleness, kindness, and humility. This love allows your heart to find its home.
reflections of a theologian 