The Least

I was at a wedding a couple weeks ago and have not been able to get the Maid of Honor's speech out of my head.

Unlike most single women, weddings don't make me sad or wish that I was married. Quite the opposite. Weddings are sobering to me, and seeing the love and commitment the two people are making before the world and before God reminds me just how far I am from that. I can't fathom that kind of love or commitment to any man but Jesus.

At this wedding (the 5th of 7 this summer), I decided to picture it all a little differently. I praise God for the union of Jenny and Brett, but I viewed the whole ceremony as a glimpse of Jesus and his Bride the church.

Here's the line in her speech that hit me. "I know this day is a romantic day full of your love for one another, and I can see that you're both beaming with it. But, it is my prayer that you look back on today as the day you loved each other the least."

Holy Cow! This is an amazing idea in a marriage. She was making the point that each day they'll come to know each other more, and even though the relationship will change and the passion will fade, thirty years from now, they will love each other in a richer, deeper way than they do on what they currently consider to be probably the happiest day of their lives.

I couldn't help but ask myself, was the day I accepted Jesus into my life the day I loved Him the least? I was ecstatic to know that was true in my life. I don't have the same naive passion and love for Jesus that I may have had even the first year or two, but goodness I love Him not only more, but better now.

Once you get past the honeymoon phase, inevitable hurts will happen. Joshua says it best, "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you." (Joshua 1:5). The most loving, Godly couples will experience pain and God-willing will fight through that and their own sin. Regardless, when a couple has gone through a trial their relationship comes out stronger on the other side.

The prosperity gospel doesn't exist. Accepting Jesus as our Savior doesn't mean our life will not have pain. It means that through our suffering and our trials our perseverance and God's grace and love and mercy will strengthen and deepen our relationship with Him so that we can look back on our wedding day with Him and say, "That was the day I loved you the least."