Our Coronation Of Marriage Series

Celebrating Marriage #101 -- Pt 5

My goal this morning is to do what an old preacher advised a young preacher to do:

Stand up to be seen,

Speak up to be heard,

Sit down to be appreciated!

"Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave." Martin Luther

"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." Socrates

"I have learned that only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. First, let her think she's having her own way. And second, let her have it." Lyndon B. Johnson

NO SECRETS HERE

A young couple decided to wed. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never before shared with anyone, not even each other.

The Groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. "Father," he said, "I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage. I love my fiancée, very much, but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I'm afraid that my future wife will be put off by them."

"No problem," said dad. "All you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible, and always wear socks, even to bed." Well, to him this seemed a workable solution.

The bride-to-be, overcoming her fear, decided to take her problem up her mom. "Mom," she said, "When I wake up in the morning my breath is truly awful." "Honey," her mother consoled, "everyone has bad breath in the morning." "No, you don't understand. My morning breath is so bad, I'm afraid that my new husband will not want to sleep in the same room with me."

Her mother said simply, "Try this. In the morning, get straight out of bed, and head for the bathroom and brush your teeth. The key is, not to say a word until you've brushed your teeth. Not a word," her mother affirmed. Well, she thought it was certainly worth a try.

The loving couple was finally married in a beautiful ceremony. Not forgetting the advice each had received, he with his perpetual socks and she with her morning silence, they managed quite well. That is, until about six months later.

Shortly before dawn, the husband woke with a start to find that one of his socks had come off. Fearful of the consequences, he frantically searched the bed. This, of course, woke his bride, who, without thinking, immediately asked, "What on earth are you doing?"

"Oh, no!" he gasped in shock, "You've swallowed my sock!"

SOURCE: Pastor Tim, http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh

Introduction: Today we come to the conclusion of this Celebrate Marriage series and I trust that it has been both informative and transformative. Everything you have heard has been straight from God's word and I have tried to share what I have learned after 42 years of working with folks who have sought my help in counseling. Today I want to share some closing thoughts on what marriage is really all about, for ultimately it is so much more important than what it is made out to be in society at large and in the culture of the church.

"Our Coronation of Marriage"

Ephesians 5:32

I. The Symbolism of Marriage

It is the mystery of:

a. It is a special relationship

This relationship is not duplicated anywhere else in all of creation. Not parents and children, not between friends, not family relationships like siblings or any other aspect of creation. You ask, but pastor what about the animal kingdom, the Lord created male and female just like he did with man? But that would only be half the truth. In all of creation there is only one place where you will find the following statement; Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Search the scriptures and you will not find this statement made about anything else that God created.

b. It is a synergetic relationship

Synergetic means that the combining of the two produces something that is greater than the parts. Paul uses both a verb and a noun to describe this mysterious union of two hearts, minds and bodies. Husbands and wives are "joined" and they are becoming "one flesh," which speaks of this intimate union that is meant to last a life time. Have you ever heard someone say that the longer a couple lives together the more they resemble year other? I'm not talking about physical resemblance but a mental, emotional and spiritual likeness. Their lives are so woven together that they become one with each other. If you spend a little time around Sis. Judy and I you can see that likeness. Every time that she and I are apart for any length of time I am reminded of how empty life feels without her in it, without her to come home to, without her to share my thoughts and my prayers.