Motivation for Worship from a Wedding

I have weddings on my mind. Tomorrow, I will be performing the wedding ceremony for a great young couple at the Lebanon Road building. They are both recent college graduates (she in December, he just a couple of weeks ago), and their dedication to one another is clear. I am excited about their future.

As I have been preparing for their ceremony (with the express direction, “Keep it short!”), I have reviewed several Scriptures about marriage, and chosen a couple to weave throughout the “charge” in the ceremony.

Of course, one of those that I keep returning to is Ephesians 5, where Paul tells husbands to love their wives even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for her. As a husband, that passage provides one of the strongest challenges for me each time I honestly read it. To equal the love of Christ is impossible, but that does not excuse me from trying.

This morning, though, as I was reflecting a bit on that passage, it occurred to me: Shouldn’t that verse be a great motivator as I worship the Lord this Sunday?

I just wonder if that passage has ever been used that way. When we come into the assembly, we reflect on the Lord’s sacrifice, but I wonder how often we think of that phrase, “And gave himself for her,” when we worship. We are able to worship because of that concept. We have the honor of standing in the presence of God due to that love.

So, tomorrow I’ll stand before a bride and groom and see a new home formed due to love.

But then, on Sunday, I’ll stand before God in worship due to the highest form of love.

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Have a wonderful Lord’s Day!

If that doesn’t motivate me to worship, nothing will.