Eternal Love
Sermon
Wedding Sermons And Marriage Ceremonies
Paul, the Apostle, once wrote a letter to his Christian friends in Corinth about the nature of true love. Hear his words as they are found in 1 Corinthians 13 (TEV):
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill--mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
Love is eternal.
"Love" - what a world of meanings there are in that one word. You said that word to each other, (Bride) and (Groom), and look what happened! Here you are, ready to commit yourselves to a lifetime of loving one another. We are excited for you! Here are all these friends and family to cheer you on and encourage you as you begin this new level of commitment to one another. Right now, eternity sounds almost manageable. Your love has you looking into the future with delight and expectation. And that is just how it should be, for the basis of a life--long marriage can be nothing less than a love that will last through eternity. As you begin married life, here are a couple of reminders about eternal love.
One thing you have already discovered is that eternal love is not easy. Paul wrote his words about love to a group of people who were discovering that it is easier to talk about love than to live it. It wasn't that they hated one another. They each just got so concerned about proving that their way was right that they forgot to give leeway for anyone else's point of view. They needed a reminder of what brought them together in the first place. Not their own opinions, good as they may have seemed. Not just nice feelings about each other. What brought them together was something outside themselves, and that was the love of God in Jesus Christ.
There will be days when the two of you will need to remind yourselves from where your love comes. Some days you may look across the breakfast table at one another in all your morning glory and think, "Eternity? Oh my!" In those moments, it will be good to remember that eternal love is more than the sum of your feelings for each other at any particular moment. Then it would be good to remember Paul's words about the kind of love that could hold together a church of arguing Corinthians, and can hold together your marriage.
That leads us to the next point: eternal love is not easy because it is not particularly natural to us. We all like to think that we are naturally patient, kind, unselfish, humble, and honest. But the truth is, there are times when we would just as soon close the book on Paul's words about love. Who can ever live up to them perfectly? Not one of us. We need to admit that, to ourselves and to one another. When you've blown it, don't go acting like you haven't. "Love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth." It is in the safety of your love for each other that you can come face to face with your own human frailties and still know that you are accepted. Let the God--given gift of forgiveness be offered often in your marriage and in your home.
God--given gift, I said. That, finally, is the key to eternal love. It isn't easy. It isn't natural. But it is possible, at least in part. Eternal love is a gift which God works in human hearts. This love you have for one another, (Bride) and (Groom), is God's free gift to you. Nurture it. Share it with your children. Help it to grow. And don't forget the Giver, for all love ultimately comes from God.
May God give both of you the faith, hope, and love it takes to make your vows of eternal love a reality.
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill--mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
Love is eternal.
"Love" - what a world of meanings there are in that one word. You said that word to each other, (Bride) and (Groom), and look what happened! Here you are, ready to commit yourselves to a lifetime of loving one another. We are excited for you! Here are all these friends and family to cheer you on and encourage you as you begin this new level of commitment to one another. Right now, eternity sounds almost manageable. Your love has you looking into the future with delight and expectation. And that is just how it should be, for the basis of a life--long marriage can be nothing less than a love that will last through eternity. As you begin married life, here are a couple of reminders about eternal love.
One thing you have already discovered is that eternal love is not easy. Paul wrote his words about love to a group of people who were discovering that it is easier to talk about love than to live it. It wasn't that they hated one another. They each just got so concerned about proving that their way was right that they forgot to give leeway for anyone else's point of view. They needed a reminder of what brought them together in the first place. Not their own opinions, good as they may have seemed. Not just nice feelings about each other. What brought them together was something outside themselves, and that was the love of God in Jesus Christ.
There will be days when the two of you will need to remind yourselves from where your love comes. Some days you may look across the breakfast table at one another in all your morning glory and think, "Eternity? Oh my!" In those moments, it will be good to remember that eternal love is more than the sum of your feelings for each other at any particular moment. Then it would be good to remember Paul's words about the kind of love that could hold together a church of arguing Corinthians, and can hold together your marriage.
That leads us to the next point: eternal love is not easy because it is not particularly natural to us. We all like to think that we are naturally patient, kind, unselfish, humble, and honest. But the truth is, there are times when we would just as soon close the book on Paul's words about love. Who can ever live up to them perfectly? Not one of us. We need to admit that, to ourselves and to one another. When you've blown it, don't go acting like you haven't. "Love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth." It is in the safety of your love for each other that you can come face to face with your own human frailties and still know that you are accepted. Let the God--given gift of forgiveness be offered often in your marriage and in your home.
God--given gift, I said. That, finally, is the key to eternal love. It isn't easy. It isn't natural. But it is possible, at least in part. Eternal love is a gift which God works in human hearts. This love you have for one another, (Bride) and (Groom), is God's free gift to you. Nurture it. Share it with your children. Help it to grow. And don't forget the Giver, for all love ultimately comes from God.
May God give both of you the faith, hope, and love it takes to make your vows of eternal love a reality.
