The first decision that Paul and I made after we got engaged is that we wanted our wedding to celebrate and reflect Christ as much as possible. We have chosen to center our wedding around this verse:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. First Peter 2:9
We believe that we exist for this reason: to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. In other words, as Christians, we are meant to make known the glories of our King. We want our wedding and, more importantly, our marriage to be such a proclamation. Therefore, we want our wedding day to be spent worshiping Christ and giving thanks for the work He has done on our behalf.
On Sunday October 26, 1879 at the London Metropolitan Tabernacle, C.H. Spurgeon preached on 1 Peter 2:9 verse and focused on how Christ has brought us into his marvelous light. Spurgeon said:
It was a thick Egyptian night in which you were then enveloped–a darkness that might be felt–and you tried your utmost to escape from it, but you could not for it was in you. Your soul was in darkness, the Light within your spirit was quenched and all around you seemed to darken….[Then] a Light shone into our prison….We saw what we had never seen before. We enjoyed what we had never hoped to enjoy! Yes, as in an instant we possessed what we thought what must forever be denied to us! We scarcely knew how to contain our joy, but we made our way, as fast as we could to the house of Christ’s disciples who had prayed for us. And how we gladdened them as we told them the story of God’s delivering and enlightening Grace, and so showed forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness.
Paul and I look forward to the opportunity to celebrate the Lord’s goodness with others who have experienced what Spurgeon has described. We want to remember that, apart from Christ, we would still be in darkness and would be unable, incapable of loving the Lord as we should. Christ has given us, as Spurgeon describes, the ability to “peer into another realm altogether….see[ing] spiritual things and around [us] there shines a Light which is, indeed, marvelous.” This process of conversion, Spurgeon explains, is “heart-work, soul-work and the Spirit of God has worked it–not the preacher–not an excited evangelist–not a book you read–but God Himself has come to you and made you a new creature in Christ Jesus.” Christ has given us a gift by bringing us together in marriage, but He has already given us a great gift, Himself. During our wedding, we want to give thanks to the Lord for transforming Paul and I from sinners into new creations. We also hope to be a reflection of Christ’s light to those still in the enveloping darkness and have not seen His marvelousness. Paul and I want, in every way possible, to use our wedding day to point to the glories of Christ and welcome others into the His light.
We desired to make Christ the focus of our wedding day even before the ceremony begins and everyone is seated under the Tabernacle. So, Paul designed the Save the Date magnets in that particular way. We had dozens of amazing photographs to chose from, but we kept coming back to this one in particular. We both think this represents what we want our wedding day and marriage to be focused on–Christ first and us second.
Paul and I hope that the next eleven weeks will pass quickly because we cannot to celebrate with you on September 26!
Taylor
I am so happy that you are going to be a part of our family.