What happened to Death do us part?

[VERMAURICE BROWN]

What happened to Death do us part?

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

If I speak in the tongues [1] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, [2] but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Two people come together in marriage to become husband and wife,partners, friends and lovers towards each other until death do them part.

It begins with a statement of who you are. You are God’s chosen people. It doesn’t get any better than that. You are singled out today for the joy and celebration that is lavished upon you. You are beginning your married life together in the best possible way B coming before God to receive God=s blessing on today and the rest of your life together.

You are holy and beloved. Holy, created by God to live in relationship with God and other people. especially your spouse. Beloved, loved by God, by your partner, loved by all who gather today to witness your vows and pray for you.

There is no better basis from which to start your journey together. You are God’s chosen people, holy and beloved.

This is a guide for you to build upon. Here are instructions on how to begin the work of married life. Yes work, some days it will be harder work than others.

Work to prepare yourself. You are to actively put on the following because they will not just happen. Put on compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, patience. You are giving these to your spouse as gifts. These are attributes which listen to the needs of the other and answers with caring. Self-giving which is not demanding.

This is work for you as a couple. You are to be forbearing for one another. Giving room and space. Tolerating those days when we you are having a day that is less than great.

Forgiving one another. There was a line in the old movie "Love Story" that got far too much attention. It was "Love is never having to say I’m sorry". Likely the stupidest line yet. Love is to be always ready to say, "I’m sorry." To accept those words and move on.

Put on love. Love that is a gift from God which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Always work for the harmony which seems so real today. Remember how it feels today for those days when it seems so remote.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Let -- allow Christ to enlighten and inform your lives. This is the peace that "passes all understanding". The peace where you live in harmony with God and all people -- especially your spouse. Let the peace rule in your hearts. Make God a priority in your lives. You begin well today -- before God. Don’t leave it here. Take time to be found among God’s people who are also working at their own blue prints.

Finally, be thankful. To God, for choosing you, declaring yo holy and blessed. To your family and friends who are gathered here today. To each other for what you have been for each other and for all you will be.

People get death do you part the wrong way, thinking it is by divorce, but it is not, it is only if your spouse passes away to go home to the Lord.

That's why I love Ruth in the bible. She has committment.

God also loves commitment. That’s why He included Ruth’s statement in your Bible. In these two short verses Ruth tells her mother-in-law:

· I’ll never leave you

· I won’t turn away from you

· I’ll go where you go, I’ll stay where you stay

· AND where you die – that’s where I’ll die

That’s the kind of commitment God admires - unqualified commitment.

I. Unqualified commitment… that’s what God had in mind when He created marriage.

I’ve heard of people using these verses from Ruth in their weddings vows. Those in love have had it engraved on their jewelry to communicate their undying devotion to another. People recognize the value of commitment in marriage. And so does God.

Jesus said: "… what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mk 10:9

In Malachi 2:16 God showed how much total commitment in marriage meant to Him by declaring "I hate divorce."

WHY? Why is such loyalty important to God between husbands and wives?

First, because God regards marriage as His creation (not man’).

When Pharisees challenged Jesus if divorce was permissible He replied:

"Haven’t you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one…" Matthew 19:4-6

He goes on to say: "…Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Mt. 19:6)

Marriage was God’s idea

Secondly, God prizes undying devotion in marriage because He desires couples to have Godly children. In Malachi 2 God says this:

"Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking GODLY OFFSPRING." Malachi 2:15

When Paul was talking to Christians who were married to non-Christians he wrote:

"… If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise YOUR CHILDREN WOULD BE UNCLEAN, but as it is, they are holy." (I Cor. 7:12-14)

I can’t explain it, I don’t fully understand it, but this is one of the main reasons God hates divorce and prizes total commitment in marriage.

The idea of this type of commitment can be best be symbolized by the ring married people have on their fingers.

The Christian custom of placing a wedding ring on the 3rd finger began with the Greeks.

The early Greeks (not Christians) believed that a certain vein, the "vein of love," ran from the 3rd finger directly to the heart. Why they tho’t that no one knows… but when you put those rings on each other’s ring finger part of you are symbolically saying that you wanted to be tied right into their hearts. You want to be committed to each other.

Now, when the early Christians exchanged rings, they worked their way across the hand beginning with the index finger and ending with the ring finger. The groom first placed the ring on the tip of the bride’s index finger, praying "in the name of the Father," moved it to her middle finger saying, "in the name of the Son," and finally, with the words "and of the Holy Spirit, Amen," he slipped the ring on the to the third finger. In the giving of the ring, the early Christian was saying his marriage would begin with his commitment to God.

Amen.