08/25/2023
Today I celebrate my wife's birthday. I have lived with her longer than any other human being on earth, and in that time I have loved her without reservation. My love for her forms one of the foundation stones of my life, and like my love for Jesus Christ, it rests firmly upon God Himself. Have you ever heard someone say that they have dedicated their life to this thing or that? Let’s think about dedicating one's life. I have thought about this a great deal lately and have concluded that although we can dedicate ourselves to certain people, ideas, and things, there are three things that we will never be able to say we have dedicated ourselves to, and all three involve a covenant, and a love that defies description.
The first one is going to surprise you; we can't say that we can dedicate ourselves to God... are you taken aback? The reason I say this is because it would be impossible for us to say that we dedicate ourselves to Him when in fact our lives have always belonged to Him. Our consciousness of this relationship with Him can come to us when we are quite young, but in fact He was already there waiting inside us, and the love that wells up at that moment of realization is so profound, and deeply rooted, that there can never be another thought of ever having lived or loved without Him.
“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”
Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV
Years ago my brother in law and I built my house. I recall the day the foundation was dug and the phone call that I received from him; it went like this...
"Rich, we really need to go down another foot so that the house doesn't sit too high, but we have hit a solid slab of stone that runs under the entire house. We could blast, but that is expensive, however we can form-up on top of it. What would you like to do?"
I thought for a moment and said... "Form the foundation on top of the solid rock." When we come to know Jesus and accept God the Father, this is the relationship they represent in our lives... God is the bedrock beneath all we are and all we have ever been; while Jesus is the corner of our foundation that rests upon this stone underlayment, God is without a doubt the bedrock of life.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7: 24-27 ESV
Saying we have dedicated our lives to God sounds so foreign to me... how could we dedicate to Him what He already has? In fact, we are His, and the truth of the matter is that He has simply given some of our life back to us to do with as we see fit. It is like a child receiving an allowance... but will we spend it wisely? Will we manage it well? I am not talking about money... I am talking about the very essence of who we are, the love we have, the humility we embody... everything about us that is a portion of God’s character.
The second thing we can't dedicate our lives to is Jesus Christ. From the moment we believe in Him He is our constant guide, companion, and savior. We might wander off to do things on our own from time to time, but we should never doubt that He is waiting for our return, with open arms. This isn't a dedication it is a rejoining with.
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
John 14:20 ESV
Finally there is our spouse... in my case I made a covenant with Ann over 47 years ago before God, and on that bedrock promise I have stood till this day. This makes my relationship with her one of my foundation stones and it sits abutted to Jesus Christ. It isn't what I would call dedicating... it is a union and becoming one that has always been... just not realized.
“and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh.”
Mark 10:8 ESV
So, how then can I dedicate myself to myself? The winds blow, the rains fall, lightning strikes, and earthquakes shake us, but I stand on the unmovable promise I made to her before God, and we are one before Him who is eternal.
Some spouses don't share the same commitment to the covenant bond that the other honors, and some will walk away and abandon it, they will attempt to separate the one into two again. But, those occurrences should be considered catastrophic events and not treated as casual options for us to call upon as a matter of course. Once made, we should love our spouse, even when that love is not reciprocated. Scripture instructs us to love our wife as ourselves.
“In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”
Ephesians 5:28 ESV
This idea of covenant marriage is almost gone in today's society. Fingers are poised on the trigger of divorce and the hammer is pulled back on that gun. It is almost as though someone had changed the marriage vows to read "until I get tired of you or until in boredom or anger we do part." I call upon all those making a vow of love to another in marriage to make it a covenant one, and a holy one before God. If you don't do this then there is no union at all in the eyes of the Father, and He really doesn't care if the state government calls it legal or not.
So what about the other things in life? Yes we dedicate ourselves to our family, friends, church, and those other things, and they can be powerful and lasting commitments, but the most powerful and binding of all are those that are made before God... the covenants, the joining, the uniting, and the acknowledgement of He who has owned us from the moment of creation.
Today I celebrate my wife's birthday, the day that Ann came into this world and began an earthly journey that would one day lead her rightly to me, and into covenant with me before God. So in all reality today is my birthday as well... because we are one flesh and not two. When you celebrate your spouse’s birthday think on this… you are one, and your birthdays are forever shared between you. One, it has been this way just as it has been between you and Jesus because you too are abiding in one another, and as it is with God because Jesus abides in Him.
Prayer:
Father I thank you for this day, the day Ann was born, and the person that she and I are together. I thank you for the revelation that Jesus abides in you, and that we are in Him just as He in us... not individually, but as one flesh containing two souls bound together by the covenant of marriage and more so yet by your will. I thank you Father for being the foundation on which we have built our life, and I am blessed in knowing that we have been yours since before the creation of the universe. Father I am awe struck when I think of how far you brought me just to meet Ann, the one person that was created perfect for me. You prepared us for this covenant before our conception, and you brought us together as one flesh in a remarkable miracle involving time, distance, faith, and love. We have devoted ourselves jointly to many things in this life, but are truly one with you, Jesus, and with one another. In our formation, joining, uniting, and physical consummation, we three are far more than just devoted... we are one in you and perfected as one by your love, grace, and will. Bless our union on this birthday Father, and hear our voice as we lift it in praise and adoration of you the Holy Foundation of all we are together.
Rich Forbes