June is here! Many weddings will go down this month as the weather starts to heat up but hopefully those brides and grooms will not be sweltering in St. Louis humidity like we know will be coming in July and August. So, let us enjoy these beautiful days in June. To this month, I say “I do”, just like the groom says to his bride.
Speaking of saying, “I do”, I was at a wedding the other day and again heard the words exchanged between the bride and groom. The “I do” response is given after the preacher asks the question of their love for each other and their commitment to each other. Will they give that to each other alone? Have you noticed it is always easy to say those two words during the wedding when the bride is in her wedding dress and all the family is present to celebrate with you this joyous occasion? It is after the wedding, after the honeymoon, when the marriage starts and that beautiful bride asks you to take the trash out, to keep the toilet seat down, and points out the many other things that need your attention. Those two words “I do” get stuck in your mouth and do not come out so quickly. I have seen it played out time and time again after one goes down to the altar on a Sunday morning and says “I do” to the Lord. The music is quietly playing; the praise team is singing gently “Just as I am…” and we whisper the words to God, “I do”. It is in this atmosphere the words come easily “I do”. But later, after the service, maybe days later or even just hours later that God asks us to love our neighbor, or even to love our enemies, can we at that time say “I do” as easily?
We have to remember that when the bride and groom exchange those words to each other they are not just reciting a traditional phrase but they are making a lifelong commitment to each other to say “I do”. In other words, they are promising to each other to be there and to prefer the other before themselves. So are we to do in our walk with the Lord. We are to respond Yes, Lord or “I do” in our hearts and our actions to whatever the Lord would ask of us. After all, saying, “I do” to him is the best promise we will ever make!
Saying I do to Jesus,