February 7, 2022 - Good Morning! It's Monday, February 7.
Today we begin a devotion series that will take us to Valentine's Day - a series on the subject of love.
I've been a worship leader for over 40 years. In that time, I've been involved in many, many weddings. This usually included having meetings with the couple to discuss their song choices for the ceremony. Most churches are particular about what songs are used in weddings. After all, a church wedding is, in reality, a worship service. So, many of these meetings would have uncomfortable moments when I would have to tell the bride and groom that they couldn't use that song that was playing on the jukebox the night they first met!
One choice, however, that was never a problem, was the choice to include a scripture reading in the ceremony. Often, it would be the passage that we'll look at later this week, I Corinthians 13. But, in the old days - not so much anymore - it was often Ruth 1:16.
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
That's one of those passages that just doesn't sound right unless we read it from the King James version. Beautiful words. And these words weren't spoken by a husband to a wife, or by a wife to a husband. They were spoken by a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law, by Ruth to Naomi. Sometimes the Valentine's holiday can be a painful experience for those who are not in a romantic relationship, to those who have gone through a divorce, to those who have lost a spouse. But there are all kinds of "love" relationships - friends, siblings, even in-laws! And they can all be a blessing and they should all be celebrated.
Meet you back here tomorrow as we continue our series on love.
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
