My husband and I love to look through old magazines. We have a small, musty collection that contain recipes calling for lard, egg yolks, and white sugar, advertisements for cigarettes claiming to improve health and concentration, and happy couples standing in front of white, picket-fenced homes with two smiling children and a well-behaved dog.
The other day I was looking through an old magazine from the 60’s and saw a picture of a newly married couple leaving the church in a car that had tin cans tied behind it. Despite the fact that this was an advertisement for a particular make of car, I started thinking about what this scene represented.
This used to be a common scene - shouts of joy, the honking of horns, and the noise of the cans rattling behind. As I looked closer at the picture, I noticed the contrast between the pure radiance of the bride’s expression and dress with the dirty commonness of the used tin cans. What a contradiction. It made me start to think about all the contradictions in my spiritual life. What do I have dragging behind me, weighing me down? Do I live with the dirty habits of my flesh clinging to the purity of my spirit?
Wouldn’t it be great if the night before a person’s wedding, instead of bachelor parties or stressful rehearsals, the bride and groom spent that time labeling these old cans with the things they need to leave behind that will intrude upon their new life, all the sinful restrictions of the past. Words like: absent father, overbearing mother, disastrous past relationships, anything that could color and shade the strength of their new relationship would be written across the cans.
They could then tie these cans to the back of the car the night before, laying them on the ground as a sign of their laying down of the past; then just before they drove off, the minister would cut the strings in the name of Jesus as a symbol of them leaving behind the captive regret of their experiences, dreams, and judgments. How different is my “marriage” to Christ?
What past things might be intruding upon my relationship with God today? What have I allowed to enter into this spiritually unique relationship that has negatively affected my Godly affections?
Dear Jesus, you considered the church your bride. I recommit myself to you and renew my “vows.” You are not only my Savior, you are my Lord and King.
Check out: Song of Solomon: 8:7
The other day I was looking through an old magazine from the 60’s and saw a picture of a newly married couple leaving the church in a car that had tin cans tied behind it. Despite the fact that this was an advertisement for a particular make of car, I started thinking about what this scene represented.
This used to be a common scene - shouts of joy, the honking of horns, and the noise of the cans rattling behind. As I looked closer at the picture, I noticed the contrast between the pure radiance of the bride’s expression and dress with the dirty commonness of the used tin cans. What a contradiction. It made me start to think about all the contradictions in my spiritual life. What do I have dragging behind me, weighing me down? Do I live with the dirty habits of my flesh clinging to the purity of my spirit?
Wouldn’t it be great if the night before a person’s wedding, instead of bachelor parties or stressful rehearsals, the bride and groom spent that time labeling these old cans with the things they need to leave behind that will intrude upon their new life, all the sinful restrictions of the past. Words like: absent father, overbearing mother, disastrous past relationships, anything that could color and shade the strength of their new relationship would be written across the cans.
They could then tie these cans to the back of the car the night before, laying them on the ground as a sign of their laying down of the past; then just before they drove off, the minister would cut the strings in the name of Jesus as a symbol of them leaving behind the captive regret of their experiences, dreams, and judgments. How different is my “marriage” to Christ?
What past things might be intruding upon my relationship with God today? What have I allowed to enter into this spiritually unique relationship that has negatively affected my Godly affections?
Dear Jesus, you considered the church your bride. I recommit myself to you and renew my “vows.” You are not only my Savior, you are my Lord and King.
Check out: Song of Solomon: 8:7
Posts
My anniversary is tomorrow and I wish we had done such a thing 14 years ago so none of our trash would keep rattling around us.
ReplyDeleteJodi,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new blog!
I love this illustration and would love to include it in my book (if it ever gets written!) in the chapter "i am the Bride", giving you the credit, of course!
I signed up as a follower.
Susan