Verse for the Week

He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." ~ Matthew 19:4-6 (ESV)

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of officiating at the wedding of a young woman in our church. The bride and groom were resplendent in their attire and practically beaming with love for one another. And yet, they are embarking upon a journey which neither can fully understand or prepare for at its inception. How do they navigate these uncertain waters? Ancient mariners used the stars to gage their changing position against the fixed lights of the heavens. Our newly-weds can do the same. Not look at the stars, but look to the fixed marks of Heaven to steer by. God created them male and female, so they should note that there will be differences - good attributes to relish and others to mitigate against. They have become one flesh, and just as your right leg and left leg can't take different paths, neither can they, or the one body will be torn in two. But most important, God has joined them. They specifically sought out a Christian wedding ceremony and made vows to one another in the sight of God and in the presence of earthly witnesses. Hopefully, that will be the North Star that guides them for a lifetime.