The traditional gift for a 50th Wedding Anniversary is gold. Gold is a metal that is durable so I suppose that the symbolism is that of something that has lasted fifty years, is very valuable and has survived the ups and downs of life and is still standing and hopefully in good condition. There are not many things that increase in value over the years but a good marriage does, as does gold.
Life by its very nature is moving towards days of decline. Over time we lose strength, we are not quite as sharp as we used to be and one day life will ebb away and the question is, what then? One of the reasons I am a Christian is because the Lord Jesus Christ has given me eternal life. The biblical definition of eternal life is twofold. 1. It is the spiritual life that a person gets the moment their sins are forgiven and they have made their peace with God plus 2. It is the guaranteed prospect of existing forever in heaven (with a new body at the resurrection) in a place where death, sickness, sorrow and the effects of evil can never touch the people who are there.
The Jews in Bible times had many traditions that were rooted in the teaching that Moses received from God when he received the ten commandments and the Law. One of the many festivals they were instructed to commemorate was that of the year of Jubilee. This was a festival that took place every fifty years. There were many events that took place in this special year, people who had got into financial difficulties were released from their debts. Land that had been confiscated was returned to the family who originally owned it. Families were reunited, debts were cleared, harmony was reinstated.
This Jubilee year reminds me of what the Lord Jesus does as a result of his death at Calvary. The Bible verse - ‘Christ died for our sins’1 teaches me that He can clear the debt of sin for those who are prepared to accept forgiveness. One verse in the Psalms of David says ‘He restored that which he took not away’2. Jesus, by his death, burial and resurrection can bring people to God who are far away from him and cannot find the way back themselves. He also brings harmony to troubled lives. The scripture says about Jesus ‘And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven’3.
Let's make the principle of a Golden Wedding a real reason for celebration.
1. 1 Cor. 15. 3
2. Ps. 69. 4
3. Col. 1. 20
No comments
Post a Comment