"Rehearsal Day"

I am writing this devotional well in advance of the date as I will be in Texas for my nephew’s wedding. In fact, if you are reading them a day at a time, today is the day for the rehearsal. I’ve done many weddings in my forty years of ministry, but I am always so grateful for the privilege of being a part of my family’s marriages. Ryan and Alison are such fine young adults. I am confident they will be wonderful together as they become husband and wife.

That confidence is not rooted in their intelligence, though they are both very intelligent. It is not rooted in the compatibility, though all the testing shows a high degree of compatibility. It is not rooted in deep feelings for one another, though they certainly have a secure emotional attachment to one another. All of those things can fail. I’ve seen very intelligent, seemingly compatible, emotionally drawn people lose their way and end their marriages with divorce. Ultimately the only means to insure a successful marriage is in the absolute commitment of both individuals to Christ and each other. It’s the same kind of commitment mirrored in Ruth’s commitment to Naomi:

Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” (Ruth 1:16-17 NIV).

Did you see it? There is no waver; no second thoughts. She is completely committed. So it should be with every man and woman who enters into a marriage covenant. That’s the only thing that allows real transformation to take place. That is the only means to taking the tow independent lives and melding them into one.

It’s fine to rehearse the various movements and actions of a wedding ceremony. I always have a great time watching how nervous everyone is. However, the real rehearsal for a successful marriage has been going on in their lives for a long time. The lessons they have learned thus far now need to be put into practice. They are the lessons of perseverance, commitment, faithfulness, and genuine sacrificial love. I am confident they will.

For some of you, the challenge today is to a recommitment to those same things. Some of you are thinking that it is too late for you. It is never too late to start fresh with Christ. You may be single, divorced, or troubled, please turn to Christ. Find a godly, Biblically principled counselor to help you make sure your future is pointed down a path walking with Him. And, if you can’t find someone like that near you, call me.