Well, today is 7/7/07. It’s supposedly the “luckiest day” of the century and many couples are taking advantage of today by getting married. This day is relevant for me in two ways. First, as a wedding videographer, I will be busy filming a wedding later today. This is one of my occupations since leaving professional ministry four years ago. One of the things I do while I film is pray for the bride and groom and the health of their new marriage.Second, as a pastor, I know that a beautiful wedding does not necessarily guarantee a healthy and vibrant marriage. Sometimes, it’s crazy watching a couple pour so much time, energy and money into one day. I hope and pray that they pour that kind of care into their relationship over the years.As I was thinking about all the couple who will be getting married today, I remembered a quote by Dallas Willard on marriage:

“Today there is about a fifty-percent divorce rate in America, and the rate is not much lower for professing Christians. But the problem is not divorce – though divorce generates a set of problems all its own. The problem is that people don’t know how to be married. They don’t actually get married in many cases, though they go through a legal and possibly a religious ceremony. They are, sad to say, incapable of marriage – the kind of constant, mutual blessing that can make two people in conjugal relation literally one whole person. (Ephesians 5:22-33)… To be married is to give oneself to another person in the most intimate and inclusive of human relationships, to support him or her for good in every way possible – physically, emotionally, and spiritually, of course, but in every conceivable dimension of his or her being.”
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart 

Lord, may all of us who have entered the covenant and sacrament of marriage bear witness to the mystery of Christ and his Bride by embodying your sacrificial love. Amen.