Dear Rose Park,
This past Saturday, my family and I attended my cousin Luke’s wedding. After coming home from vacation in South Carolina on Thursday evening and attending Winnie’s soccer practice on Saturday morning, we loaded back into the car and drove to Kirk in the Hills Presbyterian Church in Bloomfield, MI. It was a beautiful ceremony. As Sam, the kids, and I sat in the pew and witnessed Luke and his bride Corinne make vows to one another, I started to think of you all.
“Weddings are easy; marriages are difficult.” Eugene Peterson wrote this in his book, Run With The Horses and it’s absolutely true. Don’t get me wrong, I love officiating and attending weddings. I love the pageantry, the flowers, the music, the setting, and the traditions. Every once in a while, Sam and I will reminisce about our own wedding and share lovely memories of friends and family gathering to honor and witness our commitment to each other and God, but don’t for a second think that the wedding is the hard part.
In the moment we might stress over what the groomsmen and bridesmaids will wear and where they should stand. We concern ourselves with the flow of the evening and whether or not the meal should be plated or ‘family style.’ We spend time and energy thinking of table assignments and who should sit next to who. These are all important and they certainly matter, but this isn’t the hard part nor is it the most important part. If we’re honest, weddings can be done with our eyes closed, but marriages need our wide-eyed attention. Marriages need daily devotion, attentive listening, gracious care, and fervent faithfulness.
In a similar way, Sunday morning worship isn’t the hard part; remaining faithful to God Monday through Saturday is the hard part. Attending the bible study on Wednesday night isn’t the hard part; staying hungry for God’s Word outside the walls of the church is the hard part. Most of us can go through the motions of Sunday morning worship or Wednesday evening bible study with our eyes closed. We know when to sit and stand, how it will flow, the number of songs we’ll sing, what page to flip to, and where to go afterwards for coffee and cookies. That’s the easy part. Remaining faithful to God for the rest of the week requires our daily attention.
This is all to say, I hope we’re spending more time and energy in our marriage with God then we are for the wedding. I hope we’re more interested in building, maintaining, and growing our relationship with God then simply starting a relationship with God. Sunday morning worship or Wednesday evening ministries might be the places where our relationship begins, but that relationship needs care and attention beyond that particular gathering. So, let us be a people who are intentionally cultivating and growing our relationship with God for the long haul each and every day.
Grace & Peace,
