Live as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life…

Philippians 2:14-16

This weekend has been classic fall in North Carolina. Cool, clear, bright sunshine, stunning colors. The perfect timing for getting married.

Other than the luxury of relaxing and enjoying a wedding Rebekah wasn’t responsible for, the real delight of this occasion was the joy of seeing good people happy and filled up with love.

Our friends Trish and David Floyd saw their first son, Tim, married to the love of his life, Bri. They were surrounded by friends and family, partied long into the evening in a beautiful setting, and made huge promises to one another that will shape their future as a family.

Someone set up an old fashioned phone on a table outside the reception. It was rigged to record, and guests were encouraged to leave a message of congratulations and encouragement. I’m not sure I have that much confidence in the technology, so here – best I remember – is what I said.

“Congratulations, Tim and Bri. Rebekah and I are happy for you and glad we could be here to witness such genuine joy. Occasions like this remind me of something Paul wrote to his friends in his letter to the Philippians. (I paraphrased, from memory). ‘We want you to shine like stars in the sky – in the middle of this difficult world – holding onto and holding out the evidence of the word of life.'”

“You can do it,” Rebekah, called out over my shoulder, “we believe in you.”

Well, yes, we believe in the young couple, so obviously overflowing with genuine love and joy and promise. But more than that we believe in the power of God’s faithful love and goodness. So we pray that the word of life Tim and Bri hold onto is faith in God, and that the light they shine is the light that can only come from Jesus.

In love, and because love is the answer – DEREK