Monday, February 12, 2018
587 - Today In The Sight of God...
Spirituality Column #587
February 13, 2018
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Today In the Sight of
God …
By Bob Walters
“Dearly beloved, we
are gathered here today in the sight of God …”
This ministerial utterance signifies
equal parts success and surrender for those within closest earshot of the
altar: the bride and the groom.
As they transform into “Mr. and
Mrs.”, love is requited, vows are exchanged, a duty is recognized, and the
adventure of life together awaits. These
individuals have succeeded in finding a mate, announcing in community their intention
to surrender their past “self” for their new “we.” No doubt, marriage done right is a team
effort.
Yet isn’t it ironic that absolute
love requires both of the often competing human instincts of absolute freedom
and absolute commitment? If I am
shackled to any relationship against my will I am a slave. If I am freely committed to that which or
whom I love – and that “which or whom” loves me back or at least represents
great purpose (I am thinking here of raising children or missional duty) – unfettered
joy blossoms.
Love declared only with human emotion
is a shallow pool of draining water; a self-interested sphere of survival,
appetites, and fear. It is our human social
being – our relationships – that give us our first glimpse of larger divine purpose. Enlightenment philosopher Thomas Hobbes
(1588-1679) observed, accurately I think, that life outside society would be
“solitary, poor, brutish, nasty, and short.”
But in typical Enlightenment aversion to Godly faith, Hobbes
inaccurately suggested the solution to be a powerful person (monarch) or
parliament, thereby citing a human solution to a human problem.
No, it takes a much, much bigger
love to be the bellwether of human freedom and to reign worthy of true
commitment. We invite God to the wedding
because only divine love transcends the self, and honor only happens in the
presence of Godly love. We invite God
into our life for ultimate purpose, which is to attach our own being to God’s
glory that He has freely given us in community and committed to us through His
son Jesus Christ. Asserting our human emotions
is not a romantic function of God’s loving freedom; it is a symptom of worldly
carelessness. Godly love is different.
Marriage is a supremely serious dynamic
of glory, love and commitment not only of the self, the spouse, and the
community, but ultimately to God.
Valentine’s Day is often secular love’s superficial statement of “me and
what I want,” and “love” in this world without the accompanying glory of God is
a very small accomplishment indeed.
What has blessed humanity in these
past few centuries – religiously with wide Bible literacy, philosophically with
the Enlightenment, politically with republican government, economically with
personal property rights, and scientifically with technical advances in communication,
travel, production, health, and comfort – is our newfound freedom to marry for
love, not just duty and survival. It’s a
nearly unprecedented luxury.
Secular society arrogantly refuses
to see “Godly provision” in these startling human advancements. It still paints God and Godly faith as a
human problem instead of life’s ultimate purpose, love’s ultimate foundation,
and humanity’s only completion.
That’s why we still need to invite
God to the wedding … and to love His terms.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) notes St. Valentine’s Day is no longer a
religious holiday; and the several real Sts. Valentine, seriously, had little
to do with romantic love.
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