Sermon for a wedding

On this joyful occasion you step into a new chapter of your life and you are both here to receive a blessing of your marriage because you are in love with each other. But the challenge lies for you beyond this day of celebration, when all the wedding guest are gone and you have settled down into your daily routine and that challenge is to truly love each other. And I am sure you will both do that.  

You have chosen a wonderful verse from scripture on your card ‘as long as we love one another, God will live in us, and his love will be complete in us’ (1 John 4:12). This I think shows your commitment to your marriage which you base on love even though you are two different faiths. 

We ought to remember that this love is not just physical, emotional or carnal. Such love is based on money, gifts, parties, more materialistic. Like a mother who said last week I have given everything for my son the only thing we don’t have is a sofa, whereas the son was being abused in his home and was in search of love. It is something higher.  It is the love of God.  

So let me remind you of some of the characteristics of this love which will help your marriage. 

1) Love is not angered, doesn’t get provoked

In today’s busy world anger has become the easiest way to get the stress out. Temper is also used to intimidate and to punish. The excuse “Sure, I have a bad temper. But I get it all out and it’s over in a few minutes.” The devastation it leaves behind is terrible. When you’re angry, usually you’re not loving. 

True love sharpens the mind it helps to sharpen the temper. It helps to bring your temper under control. Just in case you lose your cool be humble enough to say sorry. Better understanding, patience, respect and adjustment could be the opposite of anger. Show your love by not getting provoked. Love is not angered. 

2) Love protects, covers all things

Love is a protector of others and covers up in silence without making failures of the others public. 

Love protects by covering. Love doesn’t broadcast the problems or failures you may face. Love doesn’t run down the other with jokes, sarcasm or putdowns. Since you come from two different faiths you need to be extra careful. Problems and failures can be spoken and discussed. But don’t make fun of the other in public. Such conversations made for fun can get you thinking and it can give room for others to make inroads into your marriage. It can give others the opportunity to create division. It could hurt.  

So be protective of each other. Love defends the character of the other person as much as possible within the relationship. It neither deliberately exposes and emphasize them. Show your love by protecting each other. Love protects. 

3) Love believes

Love is about trusting each other and believing the best in each other. I am sure you could not have come this far if you had not believed and trusted in each other. 

“Love always trusts.” This does not mean gullibility. It does mean that love is not suspicious and doubting of the other person’s character and motives without good reason, even if the actions offended you. If trust has been broken, then it needs to be earned again, built up step by step which is very difficult. But love believes the other person is innocent until proven guilty, not guilty until proven innocent. 

In the relationship of marriage, trust shows itself by not grilling the other person about every detail of his or her story. It means believing in each other.  

Even for fun don’t break trust. Believe what the other says. Even for fun don’t cheat. Don’t lie or make the other believe in a lie. Those in love don’t indulge in such practices. Love believes.

4) Love always endures, perseveres

To bear, to tolerate, to put up with, to sustain. Generally when problems strike we tend to surrender, give up. When there is a military attack the army doesn’t run away but will hold on. It is so with problems you can face in a relationship. It means that love hangs in there at whatever cost. That will show the positive and triumphant spirit of your marriage. At the end you have overcome. It will make it perfect and complete. With humility and a forgiving attitude marriages can be renewed and grow from strength to strength. 

Every time you persevere, you overcome and you are making your marriage perfect and complete. It is like a journey that keeps going to the end however difficult it may be. Love endures all things. 

These qualities may not be the thing in today’s context. It may sound meaningless and outdated. Also it is easy to love in the abstract but not when it comes right down to loving. 

So as the excitement and the revelry of your wedding  and celebrations fades away as you push the boat of your marriage into the deep sea’s when you enter into daily living and start facing reality remember it is the qualities of the never failing love which will help you to keep the boat steady.  

Now these are qualities which will help you to uphold the highest virtues in your marriage. In today’s context love is cold. Relationships are yearning for warmth. But if you can keep the love that you have for each other to the end even though what I have said may not seem to be the done thing in today’s fast paced world hold on to these virtues. The world may laugh at you but you can have the final laugh. 

To conclude love never fails. It is the breath of your marriage. We need to remember at this time that the best example we have of love in action is Jesus. Marriage is a once in a life time event. So sacrifice, respect the other and adjust so that you as husband and wife can lead a comfortable and exemplary life till the very last.   

Jesus loves you. May God bless you both.