The Purer the Gold

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’.  John 7:38

When I wrote Snapshots of a Christ-focused Wedding I promised I would tell you something about the bride and groom, other than that they hail from opposite corners of the continent and were born two days apart.  For a few reasons, this was delayed until now, but I did want to share a particular bit of their romance.

I’ve had several posts in which I talk about watching our children, young or grown, walk through significant trials.  Painful though it is, for somehow we want so badly for them to be well, comfortable, happy and satisfied, these trials serve Christ’s transforming purpose in their lives.  Indeed, especially if they are walking in fellowship with the Lord it is hard to see them walk through severe trials.

Yes, this post is about a wedding.  A glorious, happy, deeply satisfying and Christ-exalting wedding.  For you see, the groom and the bride began their love story just following severe trials in both their lives.  In fact, their first correspondences were about their responses to these trials.

How do we measure the priceless jewels of suffering which turn hearts deeper in to a love for Christ, seek only to magnify HIM if even through this, and bear tenfold the beautiful fruit of being submitted to His will for their lives?  Would we still say God chose poorly this trial?  Ask why did it have to be this way? 

With their permission, I am including excerpts from their first correspondence, to show the riches of Christ-exalting suffering that came into, and pours out of, the hearts and lives of this young couple.  Yes, the suffering was real:  the groom was found to have a cancerous tumor on his leg which resulted in his leg being amputated above the knee, then followed by cancer treatments.  The bride’s trials were equally as devastating and troubling for her, albiet in a different manner, in the same months and years. 

He wrote, “If I could have my leg back I would take it in a heartbeat but I have absolutely no regrets about losing it. My life is actually so much richer than it was before I lost it. There’s nothing like adversity to really test your spirit and to let you find out what you are capable of. (I actually mean what God’s grace allows you to be capable of.) My situation has allowed me to share my faith with people and has forced me to totally trust God and depend on him for EVERYTHING.” He also wrote, “Although I am looking forward to celebrating the five year mark (of being cancer free) I realize that every day each of us is given is a gift and it truly belongs to the Lord. There are days that I forget this but once I remember the sacrifice Christ made for me it really hits home and inspires me to live for him.” And, “I’m sorry to hear about your health problems. I guess you came to the same conclusion as I did in deciding that health problems and adversity are great motivators to draw closer to God. Kind of blessings in disguise.”

She wrote, “It was such an encouragement to read your last message! You know, it is such a blessing to belong to the body of Christ, where we can see God's hand through all of our trials, and use our experiences to make our testimony that much stronger. Usually, when I look at the Christians I know who have had a lot of struggles in their life (spiritually or physically), I am amazed by their peace and faith and strong witness. Being sick myself (although I am not trying to compare my situation in any way to yours or anyone else's), I have drawn a lot of encouragement from knowing that God loves me enough to bring me through this trial, because I have grown closer to Him in ways that I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't gone through this. I love thinking of it this way: I (or you...whoever) am gold, and in order for it to be beautiful and pure, it HAS to go through fire, which is painful, but in the end will make us more and more like Christ. The purer the gold, the more He will be able to see His reflection when He looks at us.”

This, along with more of their story, was read at the wedding reception, a several-hour affair of incredible joy, celebration, and laughter.  No regrets; no looking back, or wishing for something else.  God has brought every earthly blessing and delight to them, not only in giving them one another, but in sanctifying their suffering and crowning it with perfect peace.  Thus, this wedding was a monument to God’s perfect craftsmanship in turning painful situations into the gold of our good and His glory. And a promise to parents that God’s plans for them are more well-laid than our wishes.