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Lovely
Weddings
Larry Ray Hafley
Most weddings are
described as "lovely" or "beautiful." A wonderful wedding ceremony
is no accident. It is the result of many hours of careful planning,
organization and attention to detail. That is as it should be.
However, we have parents who spend hundreds of hours to prepare for
their child's wedding who have never spent ten minutes preparing
that child for marriage. Perhaps that is why we have "lovely
weddings" and terrible marriages. If we would spend time teaching
our children about the duties and privileges of marriage, we would
have fewer broken homes, broken hearts, and emotionally scarred
children. Instead, we invest several months and thousands of dollars
in a thirty-minute ceremony which does not produce a marriage that
lasts thirty months. Would it not be better to have hastily arranged
ceremonies than hastily arranged marriages?
Am I arguing for sloppy weddings? Of
course not! They can be pleasant, inspiring, and encouraging, and
that is good, but should we not also give serious thought to
marriage itself?
A good marriage, like a beautiful
wedding, is no accident, either. As there are certain laws or rules
that one must follow to have a productive garden, so there are
principles that must guide the marital relationship (Proverbs
31:10-31; Ephesians 5:22-33; 6:1-4; Colossians
3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-12). One may ignore God's laws of
nature and refuse to tend his garden. When he does so, he will have
a great crop of ugly weeds. So, one may not abide by God's formula
for the family. When he does so, he will produce frustration,
unhappiness, bitter tears, sorrow, pain and agony. If divine
principles do not rule one's home, sinful ones will!
Is your marriage as lovely as was
your wedding?
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