Untitled Sermon (5)

Homily

Koby and Elissa, it has been such an honor to walk alongside you during this last leg of the journey. I enjoyed our long walks in the rain, the way you guys would let me take tangents during our conversations, the way Elissa would answer every question first, and the way that Koby would agree with pretty much everything Elissa said.

But more than all of those things, I loved being a witness to the way that God has been drawing you two together. Every romance is an opportunity to image the Divine Romance, in which God is pursuing humankind in the person of Jesus Christ, just like the apostle Paul is talking about in that passage I just read; marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church. And I see that story playing out in your lives.

During our time together, I told you over and over again that marriage is one of your greatest opportunities to say true things about God; that because God designed marriage to image Himself, the way you love one another is going to communicate what you believe about God to those around you. Knowing this, Paul in Ephesians 5 encourages us to “be imitators of God,” to “walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”

And without a doubt, if we are going to walk in love like Christ did, it means we are going to be serving one another out of that love. All throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus serving. When Paul talks about Jesus coming into the world, he says that Jesus “took on the form of a servant.” And even Jesus Himself said that “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

So as my last word to the two of you, and as an encouragement to all hearing my voice, I wanted to remind you of three ways that Jesus served us in love, and that I want to encourage you to strive after in your new life together.

First, Jesus didn’t wait to be served first. Paul says that “God demonstrated His love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.” Jesus didn’t wait for us to behave correctly. He didn’t wait for us to understand the significance of what He was up to on the earth. Part of the beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice is that He took the initiative to save sinners. And you can be like Jesus in this way as you take the initiative in serving one another. Don’t allow how well you serve to be dictated by your spouse’ response, or by any difficulty you face; love relentlessly. Make it your aim to out serve one another. Don’t wait to be served first.

Second, Jesus serves us by listening to us and by praying for us. One of our greatest privileges as human beings is the fact that we can turn to God in prayer, and that He will attentively listen to us. And yet, not only does God hear our prayers, but in the book of Hebrews, it says that Jesus lives now to intercede for us before the Father. As you build a new life together in a new place, God is going to draw you together and strengthen you as a couple, and some of that strengthening is going to come through hardship. But as you face that hardship, always continue to listen attentively to one another. Give one another the gift of your attention. And as you listen to one another, pray for one another. There’s going to be plenty of things to get anxious about as you establish a new life together, but rather than being anxious about any of those things, in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, serve one another by presenting your needs and your spouse before God, every day.

And lastly, Jesus served us by giving Himself up for us. When Jesus served, He left nothing in the tank. There will be so many moments when you feel that you’ve given all you have physically and emotionally; that you’re running on an empty tank. But in those moments, I invite you to set your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising its shame. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that even when you’re tired, you will not grow weary and lose heart. Don’t fall into that mindset of scarcity that we talked about! God has given you everything you need in Jesus; ask for more of Him, and keep on giving and serving, because when you feel that you have nothing left to give, all you have left to offer is the love you’ve received from God.