A Celebration to 50 years of marriage, life and God's goodness
Today was my grandparent's golden anniversary. There were a number of things that were very profound about this wonderful celebration but the ones in particular that I feel would be best published would be the things I witnessed to be so evident: a joyful and faithful marriage, an abundant yet content life and an amazing journey of faith and trust in God's sovereign hand.
These grandparents of mine I hardly ever knew, the groom, my grandfather Peng-hong is my immediate grandmother's brother and had humble beginnings before their breakthrough in the early 1970's. They raised their three children in a Christian and family-oriented environment and taught them well. Before the eve of gameboy, video games or PC, they had to study and master their Ping-yin before sleeping; my grandparents never had much then but they taught the value of hard work, perseverance, trust, love and the importance of having the fear of the Lord. Friends, it is true that if you are married, the best gift you can ever give to your children is being together. It was so moving, filled with joy and mixed emotions; wrinkled and unashamed my grandparents showed love and care for each other as they renewed their vows.
They showed us a life well-lived, a legacy passed on to their children now all grown-up, financially successful and now having a family of their own, and more importantly, a faithful submission to God in their lives. It's a wonderful thing to acknowledge God as the center of our marriages; the word of God tells us that God the Father is the head of Jesus Christ as Christ is the head of man and as man is the head of the woman. While the screen showed a recap of the entire ceremony during the wedding reception and as the celebration neared its end, I remembered these verses: That He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD. (2) And that a husband who loves his wife as Christ loves His church.
Did you know that in the Jewish culture, they who are engaged are as good as married? That's the reason why Joseph was afraid to expose that Mary was pregnant else she would have been stoned falsely for not committing adultery. Allegorically, for the believer, we are engaged to Christ. Friends, a special challenge for you today: if you're married, do something special for your spouse and if you haven't yet, acknowledge the Lord in your union. And if you're single, pray for your partner to be and and do something special for your parents that they'd love.
God bless you and keep you,
Kevin
