The scripture that ----- and ----- have chosen for their reading from John’s first letter is rich with the word love, in fact love or loved is mentioned fifteen times.
The love that John is talking about is divine love the kind of love that only comes from God and being in relationship with God.
This love is known to us because God sent his son into the world so that we might have life through him. The whole of Christian faith and our understanding of true love are made real in the sacrificial love of Jesus that made a clearway – a direct path for us, clearing away the rubbish between us and God. That sacrifice made freedom in our lives possible.
In entering marriage you come as two people who are very much in love. Joining in a bond that is a statement of commitment, that is also sacrificial – but within that sacrifice is freedom.
Freedom in the knowledge that your love and your lives are committed to one another as husband and wife, that you are willing and ready to stand beside one another at all times, in times of trial and times of joy, sharing both the pleasures and storms of life. These commitments are as you know, encompassed in your vows.
John in his letter said it this way “since God loved us, we also ought to love one another.” This is done in marriage when we no longer live as separate beings but make a commitment to work in partnership focusing on what we can give, to enrich the life of the other. There will be times when you will need to compromise laying down your personal desires for what is best for both of you. As you do this you will grow in your understanding of one another and also in what it is to be something greater and more rewarding than your separate selves.
----- and ------ just as “God lives in us and his love is made complete in us”, live for one another and grow to completeness as you share your journey through life together.
