On the 3rd Day – There Was a Wedding
Whew! Tired is not quite describing how I am feeling on this Thursday evening – the Thursday before my son’s wedding this Saturday. I am tired, but I am very reflective as well. It is an amazing thing to see how God has brought to pass the thing that all of us mother’s pray for – a Godly spouse for their child. I knew from the beginning that my Caleb was head over heels with this little girl named Jessica. The first night after he met her, he came home giddy – yes – giddy. He told me all about her and how they both loved to sing and play the guitar. And the silly grin was all over his face and Mama knew he was in love!
The whole process has made me think about how many times the Bible uses marriage as the depiction of our relationship with Christ. Our godly marriages are supposed to reflect this relationship to the world. In John 2, it clearly tells us that the couple who were to wed in Cana of Galilee on the third day had INVITED Jesus to the party. What a great idea! What if we all invited Jesus, not just to the wedding, but also into our marriages to stay? Perhaps then our divorce rates would not rival those of non-Christians. Perhaps people would see something in our relationships that would make them long for a relationship with Christ. I know my son and his bride-to-be are both Christ-followers and that is the perfect foundation for their life together. I encourage both of them to stay in the Word, to stay in service for God, and to let Jesus guide their steps along this marital path.
Have you ever wondered why the passage in John 2 makes a point to say the marriage was “on the third day”? The preferred day for Jewish weddings was (and still is) on Tuesdays, the third day of the Jewish week. It is known as the day of double blessing because in the creation account, God pronounced “it was good” twice on the third day (Genesis 1:9-13). This is the only day of creation with God’s double declaration of it’s goodness. Well, Caleb and Jessica are not marrying on a Tuesday, but I do pray God’s double blessing on their lives together!
So how about let’s not just invite Christ to our weddings! Let’s make Him feel right at home in our hearts. Everything God has done from Old Testament to New Testament is His attempt to “dwell” with us. God had Moses build the tabernacle so He could dwell (shakan in Hebrew, Ex. 25:8) with His people. Now Christ, once invited, longs to dwell (skenoo in Greek, John 1:14) in our hearts. Jesus didn’t spoil the wedding party in Cana of Galilee – He made the party!
