Little Women
• Mar. 15, 2006 - Lessons from a wedding ring
I had a startling revelation yesterday about my wedding ring.
In the wedding ceremony, they always talk about it being a symbol of love and commitment. I've also been told that it isn't that this is now MY ring which he gave me, but "my" ring actually "belongs" to him, and I get to wear it, and vice versa. (I kind-of like thinking about it this way.)
Somehow, though, over time, I've gotten used to thinking about it as a restriction. Not that I'm wanting out from under that restriction......but I have been thinking of it as a sign that "I belong to dh" or that "he belongs to me." It's a restriction, in a sense, because it means I'm not free to pursue anyone else.
This is all well and good, but I realized yesterday that this misses the point!
When we first gave the rings to eachother, dh and I said, "..... I give you this ring, as a sign of my commitment to you, and a permanent reminder of my love for you."
What I realized was that the ring isn't a sign of MY being "taken." It's a sign of HIS commitment to me, of his love and his promise to me. It's not a restriction on me, it's his promise to me! (And, likewise, vice versa.) I'm supposed to look at this ring and say, "Wow! He loves me, and he has promised to be faithful to me!"
It's a different focus, a different perspective, and, after 16 years, it has really changed the way I feel about my wedding ring.
Then I started thinking, do I do the same thing to God? Take what He intended as a promise and a sign of His love, and think of it as a "restriction"? .....as not letting me run off and do whatever I want?
Obviously, the Holy Spirit is the ultimate sign of His promise of an inheritance. I love the comfort the Holy Spirit gives......but what about His conviction? Am I seeing that as a "restriction?"
And then I thought, what about God's Word? How often do I see it mostly as a restriction, as telling me what to do and how to do it? How often do I focus on it as a list or a set of instructions, rather than as a love-letter, a promise, from Christ to His Bride? Sure, it carries inherent restrictions, but it's not supposed to be a chain. It's supposed to be as a wedding ring--a reflection of God's love for His people, and His promise that He will bring us to Himself.
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• Mar. 15, 2006 - Great Post!