Wedding Day: The Call of Marriage

grown old, the Lord said to him, ‘You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over’” (Joshua 13:1). This verse reminds us that whether or not we are old, it does not mean that we can retire, relax, or recreate. Even though Joshua had lived a long, faithful, and fruitful life, the Lord still reminded him of the unconquered and unoccupied territories of the Promised Land that still had to be taken over. Likewise, we need to cease wandering around in the wilderness and constantly falling back toward Egypt, and instead take the higher ground in His Promised Land for us.

Why do you think the Lord has kept you alive for the time that you have lived? He has not given you life and kept you alive just so you could do your own thing, live for yourself, and build your own little kingdom. He has kept you and me alive so that we could live by His promises and fulfill His purposes for our lives.

Each year is a gift of grace that the Lord has allowed us to see. So regardless of what birthday you are celebrating, let’s take new territory for His glory and for the good of others. It is only when we are committed to a lifestyle of constantly taking higher ground that we will glorify God by fulfilling His highest purposes for our lives!

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The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. . . .” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:23–24

Marriage is a calling before it is a choosing: it is God’s call for man and woman. It is His call to go from parents to a mate, individualism to identity, and isolation into intimacy. There are 10 calls of marriage as you ponder your upcoming marriage ceremony: commitment, church, commission (reach the world), crucifixion (dying to self), character, communication, compassion, contentment, creativity, and communion (oneness).

As you prayerfully prepare to exchange your marital vows, I remind you that nothing is easier than speaking words and making verbal commitments. However, you are not committing yourself to a human contract, but to a holy covenant. It will only be through a daily reliance on His indwelling Holy Spirit that you will be able to live out these vows. So, I pray that God “may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you [be] rooted and established in love” (Ephesians 3:16–17). Then you will be able to live out the vows you are about take.

You will vow to each other: “I take you as my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish; till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge you my faith.”

And as you prepare to put wedding rings on each other’s fingers, remember that the wedding ring is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. It signifies to all present the uniting of man and woman in holy marriage, through the Church of Jesus

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