On The Right Track
Sermon
Wedding Sermons And Marriage Ceremonies
(for a long--time relationship)
The Apostle Paul writes about how real love can be recognized and nurtured. Hear these words from 1 Corinthians 13 and 14:1 (TEV):
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill--mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
Love is eternal... When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face--to--face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete - as complete as God's knowledge of me.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
It is love, then, that you should strive for.
Can you believe it, (Bride) and (Groom)? After all those years, the moment has finally come to pledge your love to one another before God and everybody. I don't know who's more excited: you two or everyone around you! You have made a long, steady journey to this moment, working toward it with a lot of patience and planning. More than many young couples getting married, you two seem to know about setting goals and working toward them. You know how to strive for what you want. The question is, what will the two of you strive for now that you are finally married?
You've done some car racing recently, and that is not a bad image for thinking about how a marriage works. No race begins just when the starting gun goes off. There is a great deal of preparation behind the scenes, before the car ever drives onto the track. The driver, the crew, the car, all need to be in top condition and working together to run a good race.
A marriage never begins on the wedding day, either. It begins when two people realize they love and trust each other. So they begin to share more and more of their lives with one another, from their deepest dreams and hopes to the most mundane details of everyday life. You two have learned a great deal about each other in the years you have been together. You are becoming quite a team, and all your preparation cannot help but be in your favor as you begin your marriage.
But, of course, you can't stop now. The same effort you have given to getting to know each other before this day needs to be given in keeping your love strong from this day forward. Taking care of your love will require ongoing effort. It takes everyday maintenance. Here is where a race car and a marriage are very different. Maybe you can put your race car away for the winter and not pay much attention to it until next spring, but you can't do that with a marriage relationship. After the honeymoon is over, there will be the temptation to become completely involved in your work and in home maintenance, and all those other things that make sharing loving moments with each other seem like a luxury. If you find yourselves saying things like, "I love you so much and won't it be great when we can spend time with each other next June on our vacation. Gotta go now...," well, it's time to get your lives off the fast track and do some preventive maintenance for your relationship.
Love is kept strong by those day--to--day gestures of kindness you give one another which say, "I think you are great and I'm glad we're together." The hug, the smile, the shared silliness, the chore done without asking, the surprise gift - sometimes it is the little things that make the difference between an okay marriage and a great marriage.
Still, there will be times when it will feel like you are both on this race track called "life" in separate cars. You are aiming for the same goal - the nice home, the family, the "good life," but you almost feel in competition with one another. (No, I'm more tired than you are!) It is then that you will need to take a fresh look at what it is you really want to strive for. The Apostle Paul says the most important thing to strive for is love. Not just any kind of love, but a love that is defined as self--giving rather than self--serving.
I don't believe any of us can sustain that kind of unselfish love naturally. It is a gift which God gives to us. As you begin your life as a married couple, I pray that you will let God become a third partner in your marriage. For with God involved, you will discover a love more powerful and far--reaching in the good it brings than you can even imagine. Make Christ's kind of love your aim, and your marriage will stay on the right track. God be with you, now and always.
The Apostle Paul writes about how real love can be recognized and nurtured. Hear these words from 1 Corinthians 13 and 14:1 (TEV):
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill--mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
Love is eternal... When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face--to--face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete - as complete as God's knowledge of me.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
It is love, then, that you should strive for.
Can you believe it, (Bride) and (Groom)? After all those years, the moment has finally come to pledge your love to one another before God and everybody. I don't know who's more excited: you two or everyone around you! You have made a long, steady journey to this moment, working toward it with a lot of patience and planning. More than many young couples getting married, you two seem to know about setting goals and working toward them. You know how to strive for what you want. The question is, what will the two of you strive for now that you are finally married?
You've done some car racing recently, and that is not a bad image for thinking about how a marriage works. No race begins just when the starting gun goes off. There is a great deal of preparation behind the scenes, before the car ever drives onto the track. The driver, the crew, the car, all need to be in top condition and working together to run a good race.
A marriage never begins on the wedding day, either. It begins when two people realize they love and trust each other. So they begin to share more and more of their lives with one another, from their deepest dreams and hopes to the most mundane details of everyday life. You two have learned a great deal about each other in the years you have been together. You are becoming quite a team, and all your preparation cannot help but be in your favor as you begin your marriage.
But, of course, you can't stop now. The same effort you have given to getting to know each other before this day needs to be given in keeping your love strong from this day forward. Taking care of your love will require ongoing effort. It takes everyday maintenance. Here is where a race car and a marriage are very different. Maybe you can put your race car away for the winter and not pay much attention to it until next spring, but you can't do that with a marriage relationship. After the honeymoon is over, there will be the temptation to become completely involved in your work and in home maintenance, and all those other things that make sharing loving moments with each other seem like a luxury. If you find yourselves saying things like, "I love you so much and won't it be great when we can spend time with each other next June on our vacation. Gotta go now...," well, it's time to get your lives off the fast track and do some preventive maintenance for your relationship.
Love is kept strong by those day--to--day gestures of kindness you give one another which say, "I think you are great and I'm glad we're together." The hug, the smile, the shared silliness, the chore done without asking, the surprise gift - sometimes it is the little things that make the difference between an okay marriage and a great marriage.
Still, there will be times when it will feel like you are both on this race track called "life" in separate cars. You are aiming for the same goal - the nice home, the family, the "good life," but you almost feel in competition with one another. (No, I'm more tired than you are!) It is then that you will need to take a fresh look at what it is you really want to strive for. The Apostle Paul says the most important thing to strive for is love. Not just any kind of love, but a love that is defined as self--giving rather than self--serving.
I don't believe any of us can sustain that kind of unselfish love naturally. It is a gift which God gives to us. As you begin your life as a married couple, I pray that you will let God become a third partner in your marriage. For with God involved, you will discover a love more powerful and far--reaching in the good it brings than you can even imagine. Make Christ's kind of love your aim, and your marriage will stay on the right track. God be with you, now and always.
