Goodness

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it."
Ephesians 3:19

"The grace of God is the unhindered, wondrous, boundless
love of His heart, poured out upon His people in a countless
variety of ways, without stint or measure--not according to
our deserving, but according to His infinite heart of love! This
I cannot understand--so unfathomable are its heights and
depths! God's love is infinitely tender, and self-sacrificing,
and devoted, and patient, and eager to lavish its best of
gifts and blessings, upon the objects of His love.


Put together all the tenderest love you know of, the deepest
love you have ever felt, and the strongest love that has ever
been poured out upon you--and heap upon it all the love of
all the human hearts in the world, and then multiply it by
infinity--and you will begin, perhaps, to have some faint
glimpse of the love and grace of God towards His people!"
Author Unknown

The reward is here and the reward is to come. I had always hoped to get married, but wasn't sure it would actually happen. Considering God's calling on my life, I often doubted that I would be able to find an equally unique and devoted woman to share my purpose in life. Now it's here. The LORD has crowned me with an amazing wife who shares my passion and zeal to live in Africa long-term. Solomon tells us in Proverbs 18:22 that "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."

And married life far exceeds my expectations. The wedding itself was a great celebration, but I never imagined how enjoyable being married would actually be. I figured I would learn a lot about selfless living, love, partnership and communication, and cooperation, but in these past three weeks since the wedding, there are no words to describe the depths of spiritual and emotional value that my wife and I have obtained in being together and loving each other. The deepest of connections that has been formed between Kattie and I is something that I have never experienced before and will likely never experience again aside from the relationship I have with Jesus. It's times like last night when the satisfaction of our unification is truly becomes a reality: we were laying in bed together, unable to sleep, when we broke out into songs of praise simply because our God has been so good to us. It was especially enjoyable because my wife didn't even make fun of my dismal singing voice -- it was pure.

Since agreeing to spend the rest of our lives together, Kattie and I have always committed to ourselves and to God that we would be honored to worship God in loving each other. I think that's the greatest part of this whole deal: for those who trust Jesus, all of life is worship. That's why we are commanded to do all things for the glory of God. But what better way to worship than to love someone with all your heart! If this thing called marriage is to represent the way Jesus loves His people, then what an honor it is for us who enter in to such a sacred covenant! We're surely enjoying it, and, by the grace of God, it will only get better. His goodness will continue to prevail.