The day before the wedding, hubby and I, along with our two kids, spent the morning having brunch with the groom and his family; after which, we spent several hours setting up the rehearsal hall.
We had an hour or two free, before the actual Wedding Rehearsal, so we swung by our Air B&B for a quick stop. There on the grass of the front yard, right beside the walkway leading up to the front door … was this adorable little dead mouse.
Naturally, me being me, I just had to take a photo.
As I bent in to take this photo, in that very instant I heard God speak deep down to my soul: “This is what marriage is like.”
“No way!” My mind was blown wide open with the deep spiritual truth God had just shown me!! “How on earth am I going to get that into a blog post??” was my immediate response. (all of this occurring in the brief moment it took me to snap the above photo)
So here goes …
The reason marriage is so sacred is because it is a living picture demonstrating the relationship between Jesus Christ and His bride (all those who love and follow Jesus).
Jesus Christ came from Heaven to earth … as a baby at Christmas … in order to redeem and rescue all of humanity who are lost and wandering in sin. Jesus gave His very life for our salvation. Jesus offers every person the free gift of salvation. (also pictured at Christmas in the giving of gifts)
Jesus offers us the free gift of salvation from sin. Salvation from everything we’ve ever done wrong.
If we accept Jesus’s free gift, we enter into relationship with Him just like a bride enters into a marriage relationship with her groom. Marriage is a picture of salvation!
When we accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation, the person who we used to be “dies.” The “old” us dies. Our old sinful desires, our old sinful way of thinking. (see Romans 6:1-11)
In the same way, when a bride accepts the groom’s proposal and enters into marriage relationship with him, the “old” person whom they each used to be “dies.” (just like the little mouse in the above photo)
At the moment they each stand before the pastor, and before the witnesses gathered, and before God Himself … and the moment they enter into the sacred covenant of marriage, at that very moment the “old” person they each used to be “dies.” Just like at the moment a person enters into relationship with Jesus Christ, at that very moment, the “old” person they used to be “dies.”
And at that very moment they are joined in newness of life.
The “old” is passed away … and the “new” has come!
Who the bride used to be as a single person … that person is now gone! Who the groom used to be as a single person … that person is now gone!
Here you can see the holly tree just out from my kitchen window. It looks green. It looks alive.
But it is not. It is, in fact, dead.
When our forestry professor came for our site visit this past October, the very first thing he homed in on was this holly tree. The holly tree is an invasive species! The holly tree needs to go! This was of upmost importance! This was urgent!
So urgent that before he left that day, he went to his car and pulled out the “big guns”! He pulled out the EZ-Ject “gun” which is used for heavy-duty extermination of invasive plants. The EZ-Ject is loaded with open-ended bullets which are filled with 80% herbicide. These open-ended bullets are then injected into the cambium (the living, growing) layer of the tree.
Our forestry professor proceeded to use the EZ-Ject to insert herbicide bullets in a ring all the way around the base of the holly tree.
By inserting the herbicide into the cambium (the living, growing) layer of the tree, the herbicide is then carried through the tree “pipes” up to the leaves where nutrients are being produced and growth is occurring. And in this cambium layer, the herbicide is also carried through the tree “pipes” down to the roots, where growth is also happening, and nutrients are also being gathered.
As you look at the above photo of the holly tree, it looks alive … but it is actually dead. How do I know that it is dead?? Because there are no red berries. This time last year, the holly tree was completely covered with bright red berries!
The EZ-Ject and its herbicide has done its work. The tree is standing … but it is dead.
This right here is what it looks like when a couple first gets married. The person who they used to be looks like the same person. Their “tree” is still standing. Their “tree” is still green. They look like the same person.
But at the moment the vows were exchanged, an internal change occurred.
At the moment the vows were exchanged, God inserted into their singleness an EZ-Ject “herbicide.”
And at the moment the vows were exchanged, God planted a brand-new tree!
Here you can see a little Norway Spruce which has been planted nearby the holly tree. This little Norway Spruce was honored with the distinction of being a Christmas tree back in 2020. Our son named this little tree “Stanley.”
But as you can see in the photo, Stanley is not doing very well. Stanley has had three years now to get established in the forest. But something is not quite right. How come Stanely is having a hard time getting established and growing??
Because of the holly tree!
The holly tree nearby has laid claim to all of the ground in this area! The holly tree has sent out a pervasive intertwined web of roots! … and runners! The holly tree is sucking all the moisture and nourishment out of the soil! The holly tree is sending up new little holly trees, many feet away from the parent plant … all drawing nourishment and moisture from the parent plant, as well as the soil!
The holly tree is in the process of choking out all new life in this area of the forest.
This right here is what happens in a marriage when the “old” person whom we used to be does not “die” when we take our vows at the altar.
When those marriage vows are exchanged, the “old” person we used to be is injected with God’s holy EZ-Ject “herbicide” … the “old” person whom we used to be “dies” … and God plants a brand-new tree! The little Norway Spruce.
A brand-new marriage is a brand-new tree!
But if we continue to cling to the “old” person whom we used to be when we were single, that “old” person whom we used to be will wind up doing great harm to our marriage.
Just like the holly tree has been sucking all moisture and nutrients out of the soil … so also the “old” person whom we used to be will wind up sucking all life-giving “moisture” and “nutrients” out of our marriage.
Just like the holly tree has been choking out all new life in this part of the forest … so also the “old” person whom we used to be will wind up choking out all new life and growth in our marriage.
Just like the holly tree has been taking over all the ground in this part of the forest … so also the “old” person whom we used to be will wind up taking over all the ground in our marriage. To the detriment of our marriage. And, if allowed to persist, to the ultimate demise of our marriage.
Marriage is to “die” to who we used to be … in order to be made alive into something wonderful and brand-new.
Marriage is a picture of salvation.
Marriage is a picture of our relationship, as a bride, with Jesus Christ. (see Colossians 3:1-19; see also Ephesians 4:22-24)
The title of this blog post is, The Holly and the Ivy, therefore I must point out that English Ivy is also an invasive species. Ivy grows up a tree, intertwining and wrapping its tendrils all around the trunk of the tree, all the way up … all the while embedding its roots into the bark/cambium layer of the tree … and sucking out all the moisture and nutrients from the tree! Ultimately ivy will wind up killing a beautiful, tall, healthy, growing tree!
Once again … the “old” must be “put to death” if there is to be growth and newness of life!
