REFLECTIONS
November 13, 2011
 
 
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24
 
 
Holy Matrimony
 
Adam wiped the sleep from his eyes and gazed upon the early morning beauty of the garden. Trees were lush, green, and fruit ladened. Flowers abloom in rainbows of color were accentuated by the glow of the sun still hiding beneath the horizon. He had witnessed the scene before, but something was different about this morning. There was warmth at his side he had not felt before. His heart beat faster when he turned to find a beautiful maiden resting beside him, her hand placed tenderly in his. She was his God given bride. For the first time he felt complete.
That night Adam had slept peacefully and undisturbed without even a dream that his prayer for a companion would be answered. But God had been at work. From Adam he had taken a rib and from it He made a companion for life. And in a finishing touch he placed Eve’s hand in Adam’s and she became his to love, protect, and cherish, to have and to hold for the rest of his life.
Maybe the scene was a bit different, the Bible doesn’t provide the details; but God performed the first ceremony joining a man and a woman in a union of holy matrimony. It is perhaps the most universally celebrated institution in God’s great design. Each marriage creates a unique and vibrant new unit that connects life from generations past to the generations yet to come.
Every couple memorializes their special day, some with grandeur, some in modest simplicity. The setting is not the point. The promises are. And so it is when a father walks his daughter down the aisle, places her hand into the hand of a man who will take his place as her provider and protector, then steps away. He listens as the groom, with passion in his eyes and love in his heart, promises to protect and cherish his daughter for the rest of his life. He hears his daughter express her deepest love with her promise to honor her husband for the rest of her life. And they become one.
Holy matrimony—it’s a gift from our Father.
 
Phillip and Traci, honor it with all your heart.
 
You are the light of the world,
RichardÌ
 


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