Anderson&Severson

®TP2¯®PL50¯®OF2¯®TW51¯®IP0,3¯®FF204¯®PT11¯Wedding of Bob Anderson / Lynette Severson

HLC 2/14/94

Texts: Ps 121; Ps 128; Eccl 4:9-12; 1 Cor 13:1-13

is a sense in which today is like a fairy tale

Once upon a time, man (Bob) and woman(Lynette)

after many adventures and long journeys and beginning experiences, fell in love, got married and ... well, better not get ahead of selves; get them married first

as we all know, fairy tales fail in the sometimes grim light of a real world w/ real problems which can be far more scary than any monster or dragon or witch

You guys, in the great relationship you already have, know that, so I won't try to give you any advice on how to have marital bliss. There are, however, a couple things I would like to remind you about God's place in your marriage.

the Eccl passage gave some very practical wisdom: the two of you can succeed where each of you alone might fail.

but last verse of reading goes on to say that a rope of 3 cords is not easily broken. What is that 3rd cord? the cord that will keep your marriage tied together is God himself

It is God's love intertwined among your love for each other that will keep your love strong and growing. In fact, God's love is the only thing that will keep your mutual love alive. //

now that all sounds very nice, almost like a fairy tale should, but the thing is, in fairy tales, nobody seems to worry about cleaning windows, vacuum the floors or get grocery or fix supper etc

I want to remind you about God's love because I truly believe that it will be vital for your marriage. Because even our love in the real world does not always go as smoothly as fairy tales, happily ever after can turn into sadly sometime later

there will no doubt be those times when you start to wonder about the love you have for each other. Even with a great pair like you, who are so compatible and bring such outstanding strengths to your marriage, you know there can be problems

you well know that you can't count on fairy tale magic but genuine, diligent attn to real love.

And that's why I want you to understand correctly the passage from 1Cor.

It talks about those 3 great things: faith, hope and love--and how the greatest of them is love.

It says: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

What a declaration of love: eloquent, beautiful, inspiring--impossible. For all the brides and groomss who have been moved by these verses, not a single wedded couple has ever been able to live up to such love until death parts them.

Do you know why? It's because when Paul is talking about you having love, he is talking about having the love of God within you. He is referring to God's love FOR YOU! The love you share with each other can aspire to such magnificent expression only insofar as it expresses God's love for you. The best you can hope is that your love will indeed reflect the love of God, though for now it may only be a dimly mirrored reflection.

So, when it's one of those times when you know it ain't no fairy tale, times when human love falters, that's when you will most appreciate God's love. It will be God's love for you which is that 3rd cord that will preserve your marriage and keep it from being broken.

and when that happens, well, Once upon a time, man (Bob) and woman(Lynette)

after many adventures and long journeys and beginning experiences, fell in love, got married and lived happily ever after... and loved happily ever after because they were held in God's never-ending love

AMEN.