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How does one wage war for the soul of a nation? Like so many, I too am distraught by the spiritual atrophy that has become much too prevalent in a godless American culture. Thomas Jefferson’s famous words are prophetic for our own times: Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever. God certainly commands that every nation come under His rule; we will be held accountable for our rejection of His Law and the Gospel (Proverbs 14:34). Yet, how can any one of us effect such change? How can the overwhelming tide of evil in our culture be overcome by the good, especially when so many would refuse Christ?
After rescuing His own from slavery to the Egyptians, God founded the nation of Israel with the giving of the Law of Moses. This Law was to be a moral compass for how the people were to live in relationship with their God. It was a forerunner to Christ, leading the people to a salvation that is found only by grace through faith. Yet, it would also provide principles for how any nation could live by God’s righteous rule. It is rather telling that foundational to God’s instruction of His people in regard to the institution of government, was instruction regarding the primary institution of family (Deuteronomy 6:1-9). As goes the family, so goes the nation. So, as we consider just how God’s call to Christian Patriotism makes demands upon our decisions, let us not fail to underestimate the influence that a godly marriage and a godly home will inevitably have upon the nation.
Of the seemingly countless miracles which Jesus performed in the Bible, how could one possibly rate the event that is most powerful or significant? Is the healing of a blind man more important than the walking upon water? Is the feeding of five thousand with nothing more than a few pieces of fish and bread more wonderful than the raising of a dead man who had been in the tomb for four days? At which of these miracles were the crowds most astounded or which person on the other end of these miracles was most thankful? While it may be impossible to answer as to which miracle performed by Jesus in the gospels is the most valuable, we can definitively determine which of his miracles was the first. It is in the second chapter of John’s Gospel that Jesus unveiled His glory to His disciples. And it is no small matter that Jesus would choose a wedding to first display the wonder of His power.
The following article provides insight into why Jesus chose just such an event to perform His first miracle.
Some time ago, a young man—let’s call him Joe—began thinking of marriage. He was nervous about the whole thing, but he knew what he wanted in a wife, and he started looking. He went out of his way to meet new girls, but only one stole his heart—let’s call her Jo Beth. He worked his way into a relationship with her, and to his great joy, she returned his affection. They fell in love and one evening he proposed. Their families were thrilled, and word quickly spread among their friends. Joe and Jo Beth couldn’t hide their joy as they started planning their wedding. They chose the date. They contacted the minister. They talked about the flowers and the candles and the ceremony and the food. Then the guest list: who to invite? They started compiling names. Their parents and grandparents and relatives, of course. Their friends. Their work associates. And then Joe said something interesting, or perhaps it was Jo Beth. “What would you think of inviting Jesus Himself? Let’s add him to the wedding list just as we’d invite anyone else. Let’s send Him a formal invitation to be a part of our marriage.”
So, they did—and Jesus Christ came. Now, when Jesus attends a wedding, you never know what will happen. What happened on this occasion is recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 2. Jesus took the occasion to perform his first miracle—the turning of water into wine.
This young couple was evidently well known to Mary and Jesus. The Lord had undoubtedly sold wood products to people in Cana, for He was a carpenter, and Cana was near Nazareth. Mary evidently felt responsible to see that things went well at the wedding banquet, so there could have been family connections. At any rate, the young couple didn’t hesitate to invite Jesus to their wedding.
Jesus wants to attend our weddings, live in our homes, and help us build our marriages. He wants to turn water into wine, that is, to transform ordinary relationships into very special ones. Charles Erdman put it this way: “All the signs wrought by our Lord were symbolic of the experiences which would result from faith in him. It is most significant, therefore, that his first miracle, which was an index to his whole ministry, was so related to the joy of a wedding feast.”
A Christian marriage has the presence of Jesus Christ in it, filling the house. casting his glow on the home, and making the relationships spiritual and special. And that makes all the difference.
Jesus is still displaying His miracle-working power every day in marriages which are honoring to Him. Marriage is not easy (a slight understatement!). The act of two people becoming one is nothing less than a beautiful mess. Yet, marriage is so profound that the Apostle Paul likened the union to that of Christ and His church. “’Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:31-32). So, the Scriptures explain to us that the example of marriage, and even the reason for it, is to point to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is no flippant matter when a man and woman enter into the covenant relationship of marriage. The manner in which each spouse loves the other will either declare the wonder of the gospel or undermine its message to a world desperately in need of a Savior. And there will be no single greater factor for good or evil in the life of our children than the presence or absence of Christ in the marriage.
Let us invite Jesus into our marriages today so that He might do the miraculous in and through us. Without question, no human relationship will serve to change the course of a nation like that of marriage. So, let us be Christian Patriots! Let us love our spouses as Christ commands!
Jason