06 2nd Saturday after Pentecost Sean & Kristen

Dear Sean, Kristen, Taylor, Delanie, Taylor, Family,  Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  What a special day and time this is.  I mean weddings are special in and of themselves, but this one is even more so.  Because today, we are not just witnessing the joining of Sean and Kristen as husband and wife, but we are witnessing the joining together of these two families as one.

And so , with your family in mind, I have chosen these verses for you from the fourth chapter of 1st John.  “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.  God’s love was revealed among us in this way.  God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever see God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.”

Now, I’m sure that it is no surprise that we are talking about love here and now.  But know that the kind of love that John is speaking of here is not just a feeling.  Your feelings of love will change.  Some days they will be strong.  Other days they won’t be.  But that is OK, because love is more than a feeling.  The love spoken of here is commits you to one another through thick and thin.  When problems come up, you come together as a family and face them together.  It is a love that says you are more important to me than any other people and I will try to show you that in my life.

Now don’t think that I am saying that you have to perfectly love each other.  Because the truth is, you can’t.  As sinful human beings that is impossible.  But loving each other is not impossible.  We love, and we know love, because our God loved us.  Though we have done nothing to deserve his love,  he pours it out into our lives.  And we see the ultimate expression of his love on the cross.  Jesus died and rose again so that we would receive forgiveness of sins and everlasting life, and relationship with our God.  In his love for us we find the strength to love each other.  And in our love for each other God’s love is shown. 

Throughout Scripture family is held very high.  God describes the relationship that he has with his people as a marriage.  There are many verses that give instruction on the relationships between husband and wife, parent and child, sibling and sibling.  Be sure that what you are entering into is important, it is special.  Because the relationships that you share with one another will be a reflection of the relationship that God has with his people.  Sean, your love for Kristen is to be a reflection of God’s love for his people.  Kristen your love for Sean is to be a reflection of the people of God love’s for him. What an awesome blessing that is.  Because in your love for one another God’s love is completed in you.

So know that as you begin your lives together, you have all that you need for your relationship, for your lives together from your God.  Who shows his great love for us in Jesus.  Know that you have the love and support of your families, your friends, your church.  We are here for you.  We will lift you up in prayer and support you.  And we celebrate with you today your love for one another, God’s love for you, and the new family that he is creating. 

Today is the beginning of your journey together as a family.  It is a wonderful and blessed road to travel.  And though you will find times when you get on each other’s nerves, you will discover that you could not imagine your lives without each other.  And you will celebrate the gift that God has given you in one another.  May he richly bless you with his presence. And may his love always be completed and perfected in you as you love one another.  Amen.