The Wedding

Romans 13:7 – Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honour to whom honour is owed. (ESV)

Recently, it has been my honour to be "father of the bride" to Sarah. It was a lovely day and well organized, and a good time was had by all. Of course, there came the time for speeches. Every father dreads the necessary preparation to convey a few appropriate musings!

I pondered what I would say, only to realize that God was up to something. On the wedding day, I sat down and prayed that I would be able to give God the honour. Instead, I was reminded to give someone else the honour as well as God!

When we got to the reception, I found, to my great delight, that a certain man and his wife had made the cut for the small list of guests. So I knew what I had to do. Before the speech, I asked his permission to mention him. In truth, this was something I had waited over twenty years to do: to give this man the honour that he deserved for having had the ear of God, not to mention the courage and faith, to come and pray in the early morning for the little bundle of hope that was apparently soon to die. The word he brought with him was "God has a Father's heart!" In the years since then, this is something that I have found to be the truth.

Instead of dying when we, including the paediatrician (also a Christian), prayed together, Sarah instantly got better — not well, but she gained a four-fold increase in her strength! So I was glad to give this man the honour he deserved, in front of all the guests, because I believed it was God's will to confirm His faithfulness to him.

Not what you would expect at a wedding — but I knew God was in it.

Let us give honour to whom honour is owed!

Prayer: Lord, there are many unsung heroes in our lives. We thank You for them all, and we ask that You continue to bless them, watch over them, and grant them Your mercy and peace. For those who are already with You, we rejoice in their faithfulness and in their receiving a just reward. Through the name of Jesus, Your light in our darkness, we pray. Amen.

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