I was invited to attend a wedding this last weekend. I normally don’t go to weddings, but because this was a young man whom I’ve known since he was a young teenager, he and his family being good friends of mine, I decided to go. It was a beautiful wedding, in fact one of the finest I have ever seen. The music was simple but really good and the entire ceremony well done. The groom’s father, a friend of mine, performed the ceremony as he has just become a minister. It was quite touching and both bride and groom were obviously very much in love. I doubt there was a dry eye in the whole church, including my own.

But what really got to me was the irony of the situation. Being the ever vigilant BL that I am, I couldn’t help but notice the abundance of cute young boys in attendance. There were two boys to my left about five pews up, one to my right about seven pews up, and one blond-haired cutie right smack dab in front of me. He was playfully fidgeting during the whole thing as any 11 year old will when cooped up in a church pew during a wedding. I couldn’t help myself from admiring him as well as trying to pay attention to the wedding at the same time. That’s when the…I guess you could call it irony…of the situation hit me. Here was a young man and woman beginning a life of love and family together and here I was falling in love with someone I could never do the same with. In fact, I am sure I will never be able to be the one taking wedding vows. But instead of getting sad over it, I had a kind of revelation.

The one thing of great importance that I had in common with the couple in the front of the church was that I am a Christian. In fact, most of those present were Christians. For all I know, and I pray I’m right, the boys I was admiring were Christians too. Saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, redeemed and accepted into the family of God by His grace and His love. What is it that brought all of these Christians together? Chance? Luck? I don’t believe in either of those things. What was it then? I say it was the greatest power in creation. The real essence of who God is. I say it was love.

“Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13, New Living Translation

In this dark world where there are so many things trying to drag us down, there is a light that is greater than any other light. That light is within all of us and it is the light of Jesus. It is the brightest light because it is love. This life is difficult for us because we are the ones whom everyone despises but we still have the love of God in our hearts, and that is something no one can ever take away from us. This is what his word says about it:

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare? Even to point a finger? The One who died for us-who was raised to life for us!-is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:
‘They kill us us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.’
None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing-nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable-absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
Romans 8:31-39, The Message

Who cares what the rest of the world thinks about us? And who cares what other Christians think about us? All that really matters is what God thinks about us. He loves us! We are His and while He lives within us there is nothing else that need concern our hearts. We are more precious to him than the stars in the heavens and he knows so much about us that he even knows how many hairs we have on our heads. He knows our weaknesses as well as our strengths, our fears and our faults and every thought we have ever had or will ever have. And in spite of the many things we would say make us small, his love for us is so great, so wide and so tall.

Yes we are the despised pedophiles that everyone thinks are so nasty and evil, but God loves us and says we are His. He has given us a special gift of love for his most beloved…those who are “the least of these”. It is a gift of great honor and importance and not something to be taken lightly, but definitely something to be proud of. We have been given hearts that are tender enough to embrace a child’s love and then give him love in return. It would be a terrible shame and injustice to let the thoughts and actions of a cold world turn our precious hearts into stone. We make a lot of mistakes because we are still children ourselves, still learning how to be perfect as our Savior is perfect, but let us not make this mistake. Let us never think less of ourselves than God thinks of us. Let’s never forget who we are in Him so we can always be there for his children, to love them with all of our hearts. To show them the way to Him.

I went to a wedding but instead of making me blue, it made me realize who and what I am. I am no more and no less than anyone else in the Kingdom of God. WE are no more and no less than anyone in the Kingdom of God. We can choose to take the light that God has given us and hide it away, OR we can let it shine. Let’s let our light shine, brothers…let’s let it shine!

With Love,
Chris