美好情景 | 愛裡同負一軛 Yoked Together in God's Love
感謝神的恩典，也謝謝大家的禱告，謝謝弟兄姐妹們對我的女兒Con的關愛和幫助，她和夫婿Dan的婚禮成功地在A省C市美南浸信會神學院（CSBS）校園草坪上舉行。女婿DAN曾在該校讀完教牧學碩士（M. Div）。女兒和Dan以及Dan父母雙方的親戚朋友為籌辦這次婚禮付出很多力量。這次婚禮上約有四百多人來自世界各地，雙方的親戚朋友特別是DAN的家庭裡有一些宣教士也前來參加婚禮，我們也帶去了我們自己教會弟兄姐妹們對這對新人在主裡的問候,支持和祝福。婚禮由DAN和女兒的教會牧師夫婦主持，自始自終見証神的恩典，讓神得榮耀。再次感謝神和弟兄姐妹們!願一切榮耀歸給我們的主耶穌基督！
按照這裡的習俗，女兒結婚本應女方操辦主持。因著我們離他們太遠，根本不可能操作。唯一能做的就是在SKYPE上和未來的親家做過幾次談話和商討。我們也把我們的心中的想法講給他們。感謝神，我的親家在主裡看到這一切，包攬了所有需要准備的事情，他們動用了所有的親戚朋友和教會的弟兄姐妹們,完成了有四百人參加的婚禮。在婚禮的晚宴上，新郎新娘雙方父母被邀在大家面前有一個短講。我和太太在到達那裡的時候，才被告知這件事。於是我們一起禱告神，求神給我們當講的話語。於是，同負一軛的意念就出現在太太的腦子裡。於是我們在經過熬半宿夜，擠出來的內容，權做對他們的鼓勵。經過兩個小的孩子們潤色，成為了下面這樣。我們知道一切都在神裡面，一切都是恩典，我們隻有向神獻上感恩：
Thank you all for being here to share this special day for Con and Dan. For those of you who don’t know us, I’m Con's dad, E, and this is my beautiful wife P. We're honored to be here and give a speech to congratulate these two wonderful young people as they begin their lives together.
I would like here to compare Daniel and Con to an ox and a cow. Actually this metaphor is not from me, but from the Bible. It is said in Proverbs 14:4, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean” (ESV). Probably everyone who have ever had parenting experiences all hope for a chaos-free household. But the second half of this verse continues, “abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” In the process of raising children, we have actually gained abundant “crops.” That does not refer to material prosperity, but to the happiness and sorrows our children have brought into our lives, through which God molds us into the likeness of Jesus. Therefore, here I would like to thank Con and her sister Jes, and brother Jer. As we’ve watched they grow up, we’re continually so proud of each of them. Con was a curious, stubborn and smart kid, who always scraped her knee from running too fast with the other kids. She always liked reading, back scratches and the beach, and she was always there for her siblings even when she was away at university and in Calcity. Time moved way too quickly and she’s grown up into a beautiful young woman. Compared to other kids while growing up, Con and her siblings didn’t make our “manger” too messy. Moreover, for mom and me, they indeed brought many “crops” to our lives.
Actually we started to pray for Connie’s future husband when she was thirteen years old. And we had been waiting for GOD’s time and arrangement. We first met Daniel over Skype about 3 months into Con and Dan’s relationship, but by this point, we were already very impressed by everything Con has mentioned about Dan. When Con talked about the way Dan loved God and people, he had our approval before we even talked to him. Dan and Con stayed with us in July for a week, and then for a few weeks last Christmas in Florida, and we were so happy to watch their relationship grow.
In Matt 19:6 and Mark 10:9 our Lord Jesus said God “joined” two persons together. We are sure that Daniel and Connie could walk together into relationship and finally into marriage, which absolutely is GOD’s work. I still remember when Con finished University and she got two job offers, one from Federal Government in B city and one from University of CalCity, but she surely chose Calcity. Now we understand why. We thank GOD that her decision is God’s arrangement and His ways are above ours.
Congratulations, Dan and Con, as you two become united as husband and wife. You two are like an ox and a cow from two different families. Today, not only are you to become united, but also to become “yoked together. The yoke upon you two is the yoke of our Lord Jesus, given with the purpose to learn from Him. He promised us, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:29~30). Don't forget to turn to Him whenever you feel the yoke is too tight and the burden is too heavy.
I am sure that Dan is going to be a wonderful husband and Con is going to be a great wife because we trust GOD make the union as they walk together in GOD. Know that we love you two so much, and that we’re so excited for you two as you make this commitment from tomorrow! We hope to see you do things together to love God and love people that you couldn’t do alone. Finally, in God’s time, a few calves will be added to you, so that you may have a taste of a messy "manger," and also gain abundant crops in your lives. May God bless the couple, hold you tight in His grip, and lead you to walk in His way all the days of your lives.
All the glory and grace come to our GOD!
2015-06-30
