The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
~ Genesis 2:23-25
At a recent wedding something happened I’d never experienced in decades of performing wedding ceremonies. Two minutes into a five-minute message I looked at the groom and said, “I’m about to speak the unpopular truth to you. You need to love your bride from this day on more than you love anyone else on the planet.”
Turning to the bride I restated the same, “From this day on your soon-to-be-husband must become your most important person on the planet if you want to ensure that your marriage will last a lifetime.”
Then it happened.
From the second row back, on the right side, the father of the bride objected, “I’m not sure I believe that!” After quieting him down I thought, “you don’t believe what, that there is a recipe for lasting marriage?”
It’s easy in America to say, “I’m a Christian”, but it’s much more difficult to be one. “Christian” today means politically conservative, American-dream-chasing, credit-debt-paying, and CEO attending (Christmas Easter Only) church believer. But it doesn’t mean being a radical follower of Jesus Christ.
God placed certain things in order for those who love Him. That order is simple. First, love God with everything you have. Second, love your wife before all others (Ephesians 5:22-33). And lastly, love people (including your children, parents and relatives).
At this wedding, the unpopular truth in Genesis 2:23-25 confronted this father-of-the-bride’s mistaken Christian identity. In that moment, he not only denounced biblical marriage, but his faith in Christ.
When the divorce rates in church attenders is no different than those outside the church, I wonder how many church attenders Jesus has radically changed? When an overwhelming percentage of church attenders are consumers and not contributors, we must ask, “Who is actually saved in this church?”
Maybe we should stop warring against the homosexual community outside the church, and declare war on divorce inside Her? Maybe we should focus on our sin more than the sins of others. How about you? Are you a consumer? Do you hold the Bible as God’s Word even when it hurts—even when you don’t agree with it?
