:: A Summer Metaphor ::

We're in the thick of the summer '09 wedding season, and this is the first weekend since mid-May that Jess and I aren't at a wedding. While it's a nice little break, we love weddings, and it's one of the favorite outflows of my "job" - not only have we seen students grow in our ministry, fall in love, and get married; we also get to witness a great metaphor of the gospel, week after week, all summer long!

Last weekend we were on the TX coast where I had the honor of doing the wedding of one of Jess' college roommates, Marlo, and her long-time boyfriend Justin. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, held at sunset on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, with the backdrop of dozens of yacht masts. Both Justin and Marlo are fairly private, so the two stipulations they gave me were (a) keep it short - 20 minutes max, from the entrance of the parents to the final exit, and (b) "we don't want this to be about us." After pressing the second point to make sure they were serious, I asked them if I could just talk about Jesus then. And they said yes.

So here's something along the lines of what I said - I just tried to paint a quick, no-holds-barred picture of the gospel, from start to finish. I share it so that as you head to weddings over the summer, you might thank God, reflect on his pursuit and your response, and think about the glorious picture of the gospel you witness in every element of the marriage you're watching begin! I'd love thoughts/comments. But enjoy:

Justin and Marlo wanted this to be short. The only other thing they said is that they don't want to be in the spotlight. Which is weird, since it's their wedding. But it's also refreshing. Because while we're here to celebrate them and their marriage, today isn't about them; today is about Jesus. Yes, we're here for their wedding; we're celebrating their love. But whether you know it or not, and whether you believe it or not, we're witnessing something much bigger, and they've asked me to talk about that, to keep them of the spotlight.

In Ephesians 5, one of the most extensive pictures of marriage in the Bible, weddings and marriage are presented as a metaphor - a lived out picture of the gospel; a visual representation of our relationship with God. Husbands in this metaphor portray the picture of Christ, and wives represent humanity. Let's look at how this metaphor plays out:

Throughout the Bible, Jesus is pictured as pursuing us: loving us, giving himself up for us (Eph 5:25), and asking us to give our lives to him. Many years ago [and it was truly MANY - these two have been dating forever!], Justin asked Marlo out. He dated her, he pursued her, andone day last year, he got down on a knee and gave his life to her, asking her to give her life to him in return. Marlo, responding to Justin's pursuit and representing the pursued, said yes. This is a beautiful picture of salvation.

As we fast-forward to today, we're at the culmination and celebration of that day: today you publicly declare your eternal commitment to each other. Marriage is lifelong; it's meant to last forever, because God's loving hold on us is unbreakable, and your marriage is a metaphor for our relationship with God. As you are united for your whole life to each other, so are we forever united to Christ.

Then, in a few minutes, we're going to feast, drink, and celebrate. This is an image straight from the last book of the Bible, and the image is called "the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19). The Lamb is Christ; the supper takes place when all those in heaven gather to celebrate the beginning of God's kingdom, when all who believe in Christ are united with him for evernity. Even the wedding reception is a metaphor!

And we could go on: in your vows, you commit to share all your lives, "in good times and in bad; in sickness and in health." And then you'll give each other rings, and you'll say, "with all I have and with all I am, I am yours." You've heard this at other weddings, that "a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (Eph 5:31) - this union isn't just physical; it's emotional; it's spiritual; it's everything! The word literally means "an intermingling of souls!" You have one name; one home; one family; one everything! In all things, you're united, because we are united to Christ, "with all that I have and with all that I am."

Finally, this metaphor continues beyond today. For the rest of your lives you two get to live out these weighty roles. One of the most interesting phrases in Ephesians 5 says that Christ "gave himself up for [us], that he might present [us] to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [we] might be holy and without blemish" (5:25-27). For the rest of your lives, you get to be God's hand in each other's lives: Justin, "love [your] wife as your own body...nourish and cherish [her], just as Christ does the church" (5:29). And as he loves and leads you, Marlo, follow his lead, push him more toward Christ too, "submitting to your own husband, as to the Lord" (5:22). Love each other; comfort each other; lovingly correct and forgive each other; and point each other toward holiness. Why? Because that's what Christ does in each of our lives, as he draws us continually closer to God.

Are you getting this picture? We'll close with the last words of this passage, which say "this mystery is profound, and I am saying that it [the metaphor of marriage] refers to Christ and the church" (5:32). So Justin and all men here, "love your wife as yourself," and Marlo and all wives, "respect your husband" (5:33). Because for all of us here, these two - in uniting themselves together - are dispalying to three things: God's loving pursuit of each of us; hopefully each of our responses to God in Christ; and the joy of a united life with God which we can enjoy for all eternity if we, like Marlo did, will say yes.