To Have and to Hold

• Approximately 2.3 million Americans wed each year. This is roughly 6200 weddings a day!
• The top wedding ceremony spot in the world is Istanbul Turkey reigning in about 166,000 weddings a year!
• Las Vegas is the next best wedding spot - hosting 114,00 weddings each year.
• $72 billion each year is spent on U.S. weddings - an average of more than $20,000 per wedding!

And, the funny thing is - we, as Americans, often focus so greatly upon the wedding - we forget to focus upon the actual marriage. There are magazines dedicated to the dress, the reception, the destination, even the honeymoon... but where are the magazines dedicated to the life that comes next?

If you think about it - salvation with Christ is like a wedding. In fact, we, the church, are often referred to as the Bride of Christ. In Revelation 19:7, we read "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready."

Think about it - salvation is like saying your wedding vows. It takes mere minutes, words with feeling behind them. And, wa-la - a marriage takes place. Then, the relationship begins. Just as a couple moves from one stage to another, so does your relationship with God. You go from casual acquaintance to Jesus as your Lord, King and Savior. Just as your marriage relationship will likely fail to thrive if you fail to listen, enlist reasonable demands, and constantly bark orders and demands at your spouse - the same is true for your relationship with God. Once saved, you cannot simply bark orders at God, supply Him a list of prayer demands and expect Him to succumb to your every whim. Your relationship will not thrive. Instead, your relationship with God needs to be a two way street. One in which you listen, adapt, and spend time with God. One in which you put His needs above your own. Allow His thoughts to become your thoughts and His dreams to become your dreams. Yes, anyone can get married, but not everyone can have the best relationship. And, yes, anyone can be saved... but the relationship following salvation makes all the difference in the world.