Marriage Meeting and Fellowship

Today I attended the marriage meeting of my brother VJ in Coonoor. It was indeed the Lord’s arrangement that I could make it to the wedding. The marriage was done in a Christian tradition in a CSI church where the family has been a member for decades. All the minute detail of the marriage was carefully crafted and the oneness of the family members in this matter is praise worthy. The entire family stood together for this purpose. 

To the surprise of many, the message delivered by a very senior brother as a wedding message was also on the mystery of Christ. It was yesterday that I ministered in the prayer meeting of the family, the great mystery, Christ and the church. Today, the preacher also touched on the same subject on the mystery of God in Ephesians 5. One thing was clear, the Lord wants to recover His testimony among His many chosen people, the church, as the mystery of Christ. Whether the congregation received the revelation or not, I have no idea. But one thing was sure, indirectly the Lord has spoken that He would gain the couple and the entire relatives for His testimony.

The Scriptures reading portion for the wedding is Psalms 128

1. Blessed is everyone who fears Jehovah, / Who walks in His ways. 

2. You will indeed eat the labor of your hands; / You will be blessed, and it will go well with you. 

3. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine / In the innermost parts of your house. / Your children will be like olive shoots / Round about your table. 

4. Thus will the man be blessed / Who fears Jehovah. 

5. Jehovah bless you from Zion; / And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem / All the days of your life. 

6. May you also see the children of your children. / Peace be upon Israel. 

As the Scriptures were read out, verse 5 caught my attention. This blessing is a blessing of the church life. The blessing of God is in the church and from the church. Jehovah bless you from Zion. And the prosperity is also related to the local church signified by Jerusalem. This blessing is for the church life all the days of their life. And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem / All the days of your life. 

May the Lord indeed fulfill His promised blessing upon my dear brother and his newly wedded wife for Christ and His church.

Observing at the family, my appreciation was deeply for my brother's father and mother. Though I don't know them much, I could discern that they sincerely loves the Lord and have brought up their son in the best possible way they could. Simple, sincere, and sweet are the words I use to describe their family. Such seekers and lovers of the Lord surely deserves to see the vision of the great mystery, Christ and the church. May the Lord gain them for His testimony in Coonoor one day!

Tonight at the wedding reception, I could fellowship with the brother and sister as they start their marriage life beginning from today on the matter of being one flesh as husband and wife.

Genesis 2:24

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 

Ephesians 5:28-31

28. In the same way the husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his own wife loves himself. 29. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church, 30. Because we are members of His Body. 31. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. 

I encouraged and exhorted them to pray together everyday from day one. Prayer preserves the oneness between husband and wife. In fact, the only oneness in the universe is God Himself. Through prayer, the oneness of God can infuse Himself into them and make them one. In this regard I also encouraged them to pursue oneness by all means, and practice it in evey matter big or small, including the oneness in financial management of the family as well. I shared my testimony of how the Lord preserved and blessed my oneness with my wife and how we pursue and treasure the oneness. Besides, I also shared the importance of love who is God Himself, Christ Himself. Apart from the love of God, there is no genuine love. Only the love of God can make them love one another with the love of God unto eternity. Then, having thus released my burden, I prayed for the oneness and love between them.

May the Lord bless this couple for His testimony!