weddings

Been thinking a lot about weddings lately. This week 'the story' discussed the 'water into wine' miracle of Jesus, as he gave a glance of his glory at a wedding. Sunday night Sarah and I visited greenleaf vineyard, another church plant in Chapel Hill, where my new friend Rodger Otero gave an excellent sermon on the parable of the wedding banquet. And a couple of weekends ago I had the honor of officiating the wedding of close friend and former student Jimi Moore.

I'm swimming in wedding imagery. And it's deep water.

This union-- two into one through love-- is a small glimpse of a larger story being told through Scripture. It is more than a ceremony. It is mystery and theology all dressed up in tux and gown.

Weddings wake in us ancient memories and early longings. They remind us of the God who fell in love at first sight in the garden. Who proposed to His people through Abraham. Who literally wrote His love in stone by way of Moses. And when looking for a perfect way to communicate His love, He calls His Church a beloved bride and names Himself the strong groom.

It's no mistake that the whole story is bookended by a wedding. It begins with a husband and wife in perfect union with God and each other. It ends with a wedding feast at the restoration of all things.

Weddings whisper the hope of a God who gave all He had to win our hearts and secure our rescue. This is the kind of Love that turns submission into strength and surrender into victory. The kind of Love that embraces sacrifice as its most eloquent articulation.

The kind of Love we have always hoped is real.