WHAT WILL BE YOUR LEGACY?
EPHEISIANS 3: 14-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, [15] from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, [16] that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, [18] may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, [19] and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
[20] Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Courtney and Bobby,
Grace, mercy and peace be yours in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Take a moment and look around. Go ahead, look around, and see all of your family and friends who have come to celebrate with you this day. The people who are here today mean something to you. They have in some way, shape, or form, have been a part of your life, they have been with you through the ups and downs of life, they will be with you through thick and thin.
Friends are like that. So is family. So take a look around now and look upon your family. Go ahead; this is a moment that I want to be a clear memory for you…not just a blur as you look back on this day. Note your grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. These are people who love you and have been with you as you have been raised. It is because of them, your families that you have the values you have, it is because of your family that you have the love for family and high priority of family in your life.
Your family has a history, a legacy. You know about legacies, don’t you? We who are from Lancaster know about the legacy of the Golden Gales. We all know about the legacy of Ohio State don’t we? And then there is also the legacy of the Cowboys, or Packers or Giants, or Jets, as the case may be. Mention these teams and any name associated with the teams, and a rich history comes to mind, you know of their legacy.
Your families have given you a legacy. The Bible says that the two shall become one. Two families, the Walther and Carpenter families, their beliefs and values, are brought together in this moment as you begin your journey together as man and wife. Courtney and Bobby, when you think about your families, you think about their legacies, you remember parents and grandparents, their unconditional love, their sacrifice for you to make your dreams come true. You remember so that you don’t forget.
What will your legacy be as man and wife? What will people know you for? That is the question, and the answer begins to be written today. The passage you chose to be read today is the basis for our meditation. The Apostle Paul tells you of the certainty of God’s love for you in Jesus Christ. And you need that certainty, we all do. For there are uncertainties in life, the frailness of the human body and of human nature. There are fears, particularly the fear of the unknown, not knowing what your future may hold. We like to think that we have things figured out, or can have things figured out, but we can’t. We are limited in who we are and what we can do. As the Bible says, we are born and conceived in sin. If we try to lean on our own understanding, our own conception of things, our fears and doubts will increase. But God has a better way. Let me remind you of one of your favorite Bible passages, Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. [6] In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
That is God’s promise to you, that He will make your paths straight. And He has, it is His free gift for you and to you on this your wedding day. Paul shares with you the gifts that God has given to you in Jesus Christ in the Epistle lesson for today: “according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love.”
Both of you have the riches of His glory in Christ. You have both been members of God’s Christian Church here on earth. You are Christians, not because of anything that you have done, but because of what God has done for you in Christ. You have been saved by a free gift of God’s love in Christ. You are God’s children. His promise is that nothing will separate you from His love.
That is a wonderful promise, a foundational promise with which to enter into a marriage. The promise that no matter what happens, God’s love will never die. He will never leave nor forsake you, and that He will work all things out to your good and God’s glory because He loves you in Christ.
That love that He gives in Christ is a sacrificial love, a love that doesn’t count the cost, a love that places the other first. John writes of God’s love for you in that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have life everlasting. This is the love God has for you and gives to you this day, a love that puts the other first. It is the type of love that “Does nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. [4] Looking not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. [5] Having this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”
It isn’t often that a pastor is afforded the opportunity that I have today. You see, I have had the privilege of knowing the Carpenter family for over 25 years. For over 25 years I have been their pastor, to be able to say that I have baptized you, Bobby, and now officiate at your marriage, is something that is a privilege when a pastor is blessed with a long pastorate. I have known your family, and some of the first people I met when I became the Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church were a couple named George and Betty Dreier, your grandparents. George was a man of God, a well respected man, a man of his word and a man of the Word. He was a giant in the faith. So is your “grandma Betty.” I don’t mean to embarrass anyone here by saying this but Grandma Betty has a few, well, should I say, Betty-isms. After church every Sunday, over 1300 times she has greeted me at the door by saying: “I just marvel at what God has done.” Or, “I just can’t thank Jesus enough.” What a wonderful witness! For like Betty, we all live by the grace of God in Christ. You can look at your lives, Courtney and Bobby, and marvel at what God has done for you, and what He continues to do for you. You can reflect upon the blessings of God and say, “We can’t thank Jesus enough.”
What a wonderful legacy. It is now your legacy, Bobby and Courtney, to, like your parents and grandparents, walk together as man and wife in the love of Christ.
Many here may not realize that for many, many years Grandma Betty made her home with Rob, Susie, and the boys. Susie told me some time ago that whenever one of the boys left the house, Betty would say: “Take Jesus with you.” There is no greater encouragement I can give you today, that as you begin your lives together as man and wife, you remember your legacy, you live the legacy God has called you to in Christ, and that now and forever you “take Jesus with you.”
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, [21] to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
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