Good Morning All,
It is a comment that gets made at many weddings,
especially the reception. It is usually
an uncle or great-uncle or a taunting brother-in-law. One of them takes the bride aside and tells
her, “Remember, be fruitful and multiply!”
The usual arching of the eyebrows a couple of times occurs. Often times, the poor bride simply blushes as
everyone around her giggles and laughs.
One time, the bride told the teasing brother-in-law to, “Keep up!” That really caused a fit of laughter as the
brother-in-law was embarrassed.
Most of us know this verse, at least the
“be fruitful and multiply part.” We
recognize this for what it is. Marriage
is about having babies. It is about the continuation
of the human race. Now there may be some
who choose not to have children or who may be unable to have children but by
and large we see this to be about procreation.
We see this as the biological and physical portion of a marriage. In this fashion it is true, but it is also
incomplete. There is another part of
marriage that is often overlooked, even by Christians, and that is the
spiritual part.
As we look at marriage, we can see that it
is the fundamental building block of human society. A man and a woman marry and form a new being,
one flesh. They then join in fellowship
with others to form communities then nations.
Yet God used this basic building block to start the formation of people
living in a community together. In many
ways, it is also the basic building block of the church.
It is no small event that Jesus said,
“Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of
you.” Two, a husband and a wife, are the
basic building blocks of the church.
Those two are to go forth and spread the Gospel of Jesus; to
multiply. This is the spiritual part of
the marriage. From here, the married
couple are to be a witness to their faith for the glory of God. “Go and make disciples;” “Preach the Gospel
to all creatures”. This is the directive
to the Church, but it applies to the most basic unit. It applies to you and to me; it applies to
us.
Through the gift of marriage, we have
another way of God’s glory being revealed in this world. We see his grace in action in our lives. The gift of marriage is a blessing to all
even those who are not married now. It
forms the unit through which society and the Church are built.
Father of all grace, your mercies are new to us each day. We thank you for the gift of marriage and the
blessing that it gives to us. Even
though it is often hurt in this world of sin, it remains one of your great
blessings. Use those who are married to
be your voice of grace as your Church grows.
Bless them with your Spirit and guard all marriages against the attacks
of the devil. Protect them in your
loving arms. In Jesus’ precious name we
pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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