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Two Shall Become One
by Rev. Daniel Thrower IF I ONLY KNEW When first my eyes beheld your beauty, the sparkle of innocence in the purity of your life. If only I knew one day you would be my wife, mother to our children, would I have continued to pursue? If only I knew that your quiet demeanor would allow me such freedom to express myself and embarrass you by my antics, could I have changed? If only I knew that one day in God's plan He would call us both to a life lived before others as an open book, would I have written this chapter with you in it? If only I knew that we would never be materially rich and it would take years to get our heads above water, would I still say "I Do"? God knew and I still love you! Because I choose to! Genesis 2:20-25 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed Ever Changing Simple moments of quite solitude as we grow older grant us deep and lasting appreciation for the present. Reflection of joy in the smell of a lawn just mowed, or the tilling of the soil as you prepare your garden, simple but tuneless treasures. As children playing in mud with toy soldiers and girls with baby dolls dressed in the finest apparel. We dreamed as children of the future, but in then present, we enjoyed the moments of childhood. We fought with our siblings, struggled to understand our parents and wrestled with the idea of who I am. For each stage of life we found strength derived. Maturity allowed us a passage way that confronts us all, we are sinners and we found forgiveness and strength to appreciate how wonderful life is that God has given. We have seen His grace, experienced His joy and found that just as in the past and present He holds the future. The present, many years ago seemed so distant and the future is today the present. Life changes us all, He never changes! He simply allows joy in the changes of the season of our life. The greatest of all changes is just a heartbeat away for the believer, perfection hi heaven! Ready or not Christ is coming! In John 14:1-6 we find; "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The Wedding Vow ( Because I Choose To) Two great decisions anyone makes in life are: 1.Decision to follow Christ 2.The person I will marry The first decision will have a major effect on the second one. Vow: An earnest promise to perform a special act; a promise to live by the rules of a religious order, to pledge. I. Vows were entirely done on an individual, voluntary basis. ( Eccl. 5:1-5) A. When Thou - Individual " Vs. 1-4 "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter [any] thing before God: for God [is] in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice [is known] by multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for [he hath] no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed." B. The Challenge - (Vs 5) "Better [is it] that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." II. The Uniqueness of the wedding vow is that "two shall become one"( Gen.2:20-25) A. God, not man, instituted marriage and thus God's Word must give us The proper guidelines. Vows we make are thus unto God. B. God gave Adam only one wife - marriage was to be monogamous, Meaning you can't have more than one wife at a time. C. Marriage is to be heterosexual. D.The Husband and Wife are to be unified physically and spiritually. III. A vow can never be kept in marriage unless we exercise submission to God andone another. (Eph. 5:21) "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." The Wedding Vows 1: Statement of Purpose We have come together in the presence of God to witness the joining together of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. The sacred relationship of marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord Jesus Christ adorned marriage by His presence and first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. The apostle Paul chose marriage to symbolize the union between Christ and His church, and holy Scripture commends marriage to be honored among all people. The union of husband and wife in heart, body and mind is intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given to one another in prosperity and adversity, and, when it is God's will, for procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore, marriage is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but soberly, deliberately and in reverent fear before God. 2: The Wedding Vow The Groom and then the Bride will be ask the following. "Will you have the woman/man to be your wife/husband to live together in the holy covenant of marriage? Will you love her/him, comfort her/him honor and keep her/him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her/him so long as you both shall live. Then the following is ask of the Groom and then the Bride. " I take you to be my wife/husband to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death; as God is my witness, I give you my promise." 3: The Ring The Word of God tells us what love is like and what love does; "Love is patient, Love is kind, and is not jealous; Love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered. The ring though small in size, these rings are very large in significance. Made of precious metal, they remind us that love is not cheap, nor common; indeed, love may cost us dearly. Made in a circle, their design tells us that love must never come to an end; we must keep it continuous. forsaking all others, be faithful to her/him so long as you both shall live. Then the following is ask of the Groom and then the Bride. " I take you to be my wife/husband to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death; as God is my witness, I give you my promise." As you wear these rings, whether together or apart for a moment, may they be constant reminders of these glad promises you have made. 4: The Unity Candle The two outside candles have been lighted to represent your lives to this moment. They are two distinct lights. Each capable of going it separate way. To bring joy and radiance into your home, there must be the merging of these two flames into one. From this time onward may your thoughts be for each other rather than for your individual selves. May your plans be mutual, your joys and sorrows shared. As you each take a candle and together light the center one, you will extinguish your own candle, thus having the center candle represent the union of your two lives into one flesh. As this center light cannot be divided, let not your lives be divided, but instead be the united testimony of a Christian home, as Christ gives you light. Prayer For The Bride and Groom Our Father, we come today asking Your blessing upon these two lives and this home being established. You have made us so that we are incomplete without the other so that we yearn for someone whom we can love and whose love we can receive. We are thankful for the love we see here, and even more for the love we feel from You. May we never take Your love for granted. We pray that Your love will be the shield and stay for this couple. When joy comes, may they share it together. When sorrow threatens, may they bear it together. In gladness or in tears, in sunshine or shadow, may they ever draw closer to each other and nearer to You. Grant them patience, gentleness, forbearance, and understanding. O Father, protect their home from those forces that would break it apart. We ask for health, for long life, for the fulfillment of every good dream. May their love continue through life and finally blend into the life eternal. Through Christ we pray, amen. A vow can never be kept in marriage unless we exercise submission to God and one another as stated in Eph. 5:21; "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. " Rev Daniel Thrower a minister since 1972, married and has 3 grown daughter. website www.dtministry.org Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |