February 5 I Wednesday

Exodus 36-38

Matthew 23:1-22

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”  —Proverbs 31:30

Many people look forward to their wedding day and anticipate it with great excitement, but not for one particular bride. As her wedding day approached, she became extremely nervous. She was afraid she would get it wrong by going to the wrong place for the service and doing the wrong thing. The minister of her wedding told her, “Your wedding will be very straightforward. When you arrive at the church, you will walk up the aisle. Then you will stop at the altar, I will announce the hymn and then everything will follow naturally after that. So just make sure you’ve got those three things: walk up the aisle, stop at the altar, sing the first hymn and just relax. Anything you have to do you’ll be asked to do. I’ll ask you questions and everything will be okay.”

When the bride arrived for the service, she got out of the car and walked towards the church door. She had this steely look in her eye and she was heard to be saying, “Aisle, altar, hymn. Aisle, altar, hymn. Aisle,
altar, hymn.” Say this fast enough and it sounds a lot like, “I’ll alter him!”

We may laugh, but some of us approach marriage this way. We think we could change the person we marry, but that is not the case. We should marry
somebody we are willing to love, as that is the commitment we make on our wedding day.

During the wedding ceremony, the minister will ask the groom, “Will you take this woman as your wife to live together in marriage according to God’s law? Will you love her, comfort her, honour and keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, keep only unto her, as long as you both shall live?” Then the minister asks the bride these same questions. The answer we often hear the bride and the groom say is, “I do.” But that is not the correct response because that is the line the in-laws, who give away the bride away, would say. The correct answer from the bride and groom should be, “I will,” as marriage is a commitment made between the two that is continuous.

When we choose to go into marriage, there must be mutual respect, trust and love. Once respect and trust is undermined, love becomes undermined. The greatest asset one could ever have is a spouse of noble character who fears the Lord. Proverbs 12:4 tells us, “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown...” Whether or not we are married or getting ready for marriage, we should ask ourselves, are we women and men of noble character who fear the Lord?

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for the season of life that You have placed me in. In my relationships, both with a spouse and with others, help me to become a person of noble character who fears You. Amen!