Diane and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary...my celebration was that she has not left me! Years ago I adopted Dr. Rogers line that he would say about his bride...that is that if Diane ever leaves me I am going with her:) I would rather be with her than me!
It really seems insane to think that we have been married 25 years, it really feels more like 10...I think that is a good thing. We were married in Springfield MO, in Phelps Grove rose garden. I can vividly remember Diane coming into sight as I stood beside the Pastor...it was an amazing moment. I thought that my heart was going to pound out of my chest, I was nervous, scared, excited...more than anything I was in awe that this beautiful, amazing girl was going to marry the likes of me! I will never forget the surge of emotions, the intense power of the moment as she walked toward me...for an extended period of time it was as we were the only two people present...I was oblivious to everyone else, it was as if time stood still and we were the only two people in the universe. I will never forget that moment when the Pastor said "I now pronounce you husband and wife, Mark you may kiss your Bride."
A few of you may be thinking, gee Mark, that was nice, thank you for the stroll down "your" memory lane...hey, no problem, don't mention it:) This is my blog anyway! Just kidding, just kidding...
Since entering the ministry I have had the joy of officiating several weddings at Bellevue. It is so cool, because in a sense I get to relive that moment through the couples I have been privileged to marry. After weeks of premarital counseling, standing at the front of the chapel with the Groom is an intense moment. A few of the Grooms I have stood with have begun to sway and hyperventilate as we stood waiting for the Bride to appear...at that moment I would place my hand on their back and calmly talk to them without moving my mouth. Each time I was just praying that they would not fall out and faint on us:) It never failed to happen...as the doors would swing open and the Bride came into view...you could just sense this intense joy in the Groom, sometimes they would vocalize it and quietly say something profound like..."WOW!" It's fun stuff!
OK Mark, what is your point if you have one...thank you for asking.
In Zephaniah 3:17 God tells us that "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” It excites me to think that God takes delight in me...and the little I know of HIS love, I know that HE delights in me and you more than we delight in our own children. Let that sink in HE delights in you more than you delight in your own children!
I still don't see what that has to do with getting married and weddings...please make your point Mark...ok, ok. Here it comes, get ready, if you are not careful you will miss it!
In Isaiah 62:5 God teaches us about HIS delight in us, HIS children..."For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Did you catch it? "as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." Do you see the picture that is being painted of the intense joy God has for HIS OWN! In Jeremiah 32:41 God tells us that, "I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.
Question...what does it look like when God does something for us with all HIS heart and All HIS soul? It looks like Jesus on the Cross, it looks like Jesus, God the Son, HIS death, burial and resurrection...Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Cor 6:19-20).
Let us find great joy and peace in knowing that the God of the universe, our great God and King delights in you, HE delights in YOU! Knowing that...let us rejoice in HIM...rejoice in the Lord, again I say rejoice...delight yourself in the Lord!