Valueless or Priceless

Working in the housing industry, its fun to watch some of HGTV's shows like "House Hunters." Recently they had on a couple who were looking for a house in New York City. They were willing to ink a mortgage for $200,000 but not a marriage license. This is common in our day. There is a lot of political muscle behind living together. It is true that getting a divorce is easy, but there is commitment deeper than piece of paper.

That got Elaine thinking:

• Marriage is like owning a Rembrandt original. It's beautiful and is priceless. It anchors the decor of the entire room and shows that the owners have taste and class. It is priceless because it can never be replaced.
  
• Living together is taking that Rembrandt original in to an antique dealer offers you a trade for a print of the original, it looks the same, even has the same frame, sits smartly in the decor of the room, but it is valueless.
  

Elaine and I have a beautiful framed marriage certificate, that was sent to us from the town we applied in. It is very nice, we framed it and it hangs above the fireplace in the living room. What can we do as a church to promote this? I did a quick search and found that few places offer a marriage certificate that looks nice enough to frame, unless it's a wedding chapel. Christian Book Distributors does have them!

What a great gift from the church to a newly married couple, a framed wedding certificate for their living room. They can display it proudly and quietly tell the world, we're in this for life.

Isn't that priceless?