The Secret: How Do You See Love?نموونە

Wedding Vows

Written By: Danny Saavedra

“Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Romans 8:39b (NLT)

Have you ever heard someone recite traditional wedding vows? They usually go something like this: “I, _____, take you, ______, to be my lawfully wedded _____, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." These vows have been used for centuries and essentially convey the message that the husband and wife commit to love one another no matter what for the rest of their lives. It’s a beautiful promise.

The other day, I was reading one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible, Romans 8, and I realized that verses 35–39 (NIV) sound an awful lot like wedding vows. These are Christ’s wedding vows to His bride, the Church—to us! Trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger... can these things break the vow Christ made to us? Can they separate us from His love? No. And not only that, but in these things, we are “completely and overwhelmingly victorious” (Strong’s definition) through Him, by Him, and in Him!

Now, here’s the thing that I find most amazing... Verses 38 and 39 tell us “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I want you to see this with me: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life...” Did you get that? Unlike the vows between husband and wife that end when death knocks on our door, Christ’s vow to His bride transcends death, life, today, tomorrow, and every other power in the universe.

I can’t even begin to describe to you how I feel when I read these words. I love my wife, and cried when she recited our wedding vows, but no feeling on earth can compare to how this makes me feel. I know I don’t deserve this level of love, dedication, and commitment from the One who is before all things and holds all things together, and yet... He freely offers this love to me.

I pray that each and every day, we can be reminded of His vows to us and the painstaking price He paid to make us His bride. And in light of that, we can daily renew our vow to live for Him!

DIG: Read Romans 8:31–39.

DISCOVER: How did this passage of verses make you feel?

DISPLAY: This week, make it a point to pray this simple prayer when you wake up in the morning: Jesus, thank You for Your love for me. Today, I vow to love, follow, and cherish You and to seek Your heart. In Your name, amen.”