I have been missing a significant item in my Every Day Carry (EDC) for nearly 6 months...my wedding ring.
I actually felt embarrassed that I was missing it and could unintentionally give the wrong impression. If anyone knows me, you know I adore my wife and want to show that to her in every way possible.
But I couldn't bring myself to buy a replacement ring. There were plenty of options, of course. We could go pick one out. We could order one of those silicone ring sets online. In fact, my wife did order one of those sets (an off-brand). I tried them on and couldn't get over how "cheap" they felt. I value our marriage so much that I wanted a proper ring to symbolize that. And in my mind, it had to be the original!
I've taken my ring off to split wood and do yardwork. When I head into the woods to hunt, I leave it in my cupholder so it won't fall off in the "pursuit" of wild game for dinner. I've even had it slip off my finger while pulling a fish into the boat or through the hole in the ice, so I've been extra careful. I couldn't resize it because it is tungsten. This time, I had no idea where it went. I held out hope that I'd find it when I clean out the garage, shed and truck in the spring.
But after 6 long months, I came home, and my wife is going down on one knee, laughing, "will you marry me?" A few days before, I had been thinking about the significance of the man going down on his knee, laying his life and his future down for the woman who may say yes or no. He is laying his heart on the line along with all his hopes and dreams for their life together. And here is my wife on her knee.
Where did she find it? In the glove compartment of our van, inches from where the passenger sits. She promptly ordered inserts that can be put inside the ring to make it a snug fit. Alissa comes through again!
I'm going to take this beyond marriage now, to the enduring spiritual thing marriage really points to. Marriage is for this life, but marriage points to a love that outlives this one. Marriage is a vivid picture of Jesus Christ's love for his people, for all people really. A love that's so true. A love that's really love. Jesus' love is the ideal we all strive for but seem to fall short of. But that doesn't make his love any less "ours".
Jesus got down on his knee for us. At creation, he envisioned a people who did not yet exist. A people he could love and bless. And his vision became reality when God got on his knees in the dirt, formed man, and breathed life into him. But he wasn't done. Man was not complete. He was missing something, someone. God put Adam to sleep and knelt down again. God took a rib from Adam's side and made woman.
Man and woman lived to lay down their lives before God and each other. They knelt in a position of mutual love, respect, and service. But, they wanted to stand on their own two feet. They stood up against God's purposes for them to live in harmony and stretched for the fruit. And as they stretched and ate, they fell horribly. Marriage and family life and work life went to pot.
But God didn't ask for the ring back. He didn't serve them papers. He came and found them as they hid in regret and shame and fear. And he promised to keep laying everything on the line for them so he could lift them up once again. He promised to lay down his Son for them.
When you read the Old Testament or study it in this fantastic podcast https://www.1517.org/podcasts/40-minutes-in-the-old-testament, you will see this story of trying to be independent from God repeating over and over. You and I will find this attitude in ourselves if we look in the mirror. But you will also find that God keeps coming after you. He keeps warning you of the heartache of living apart from him. Hear these as calls to come back! Come back to where you belong! And in the Old Testament, you will see God doing everything within his power to preserve a people from which the man of true love could enter the world.
This man knelt down before God and agreed to do whatever it would take to bring us back. As he knelt before God, he let himself be placed into a woman's womb. He knelt before God his Father and before his parents in everything he did. He knelt down to the sick, to the mentally ill and the demon possessed, to those who knew little or nothing about God or who thought they knew a lot about God. Finally, he fell onto his knees as the weight of his cross, our guilt, shame, and regret, drove him into the ground.
He comes to you today and kneels before you and me, offering us a ring that will never come off. He holds out his hand, "come, follow me." He will teach us to lay down our lives with a truer love than ever before. We have nothing to lose because with him there is no more guilt, shame, or regret. There is only forgiveness, approval and a new tomorrow. Only unconditional love. A ring that will never come off.
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