The Wedding
What is the best way to stay invited to a wedding?
Last week, Reddy and I flew to Atlanta to attend the wedding of our friend Shamira. Shamira, in like manner, plans on coming to the wedding of Reddy and my daughter Miranda.
The truth is that I would have flown to India to attend her wedding, if necessary. The same is true for Reddy.
Shamira, Reddy, and I are the best of friends. We are such good friends, that when we worked together people called us, "The Three Amigos". When we first met, Shamira was a Muslim, and Reddy was a Hindu. The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) used these two people to finish teaching me how to be a friend of sinners.
Even though Reddy came into the House of Truth, and Shamira has not yet done so, it has not changed my love for either one of them. They are like family to me and I would lay down my life for them. I would no more miss one of their weddings any more than I would miss the wedding of my own children.
This is especially true of Shamira. You see, when I first met Shamira, it was brought to my attention that she was lonely and vulnerable. My people skills really were really poor at the time, so I cannot take any credit for noticing this. The Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) made me aware of this, so I could protect her.
I learned that she had been engaged for many years. She longed to be with her beloved Aziz. Yet he was far away, in Atlanta, preparing a place for her, so they could be together always. In the mean time, she was very occupied with her life in Tulsa and pursuing her career. Yet none of these things, could fill the void in her soul that only Aziz was meant to fill.
I was deeply concerned for her, because I had once knew a man who was more in love with his wife than anyone I have ever met. Yet, his being occupied with his mission that took him away from her for a few days at a time, and his workaholic pursuit of advancing his career to get her bigger, better, newer thing had left her lonely and vulnerable. An evil man took advantage of her vulnerability and she became the unfaithful wife that she had never imagined that she would become.
It is hard to exaggerate how destructive this was to this man. Although the man forgave her because he loved her, and they rebuilt their marriage, he was never really the same.
Something died in him when this happened. He could never see the world in the same way again. At first the only emotion that he seemed to be able to feel was anger, but eventually he simply stopped feeling anything at. He saw the world without emotions in the same way, that some animals see the world without colors. The Father of Truth sent people into his life to repair his ability to trust people, but they could not repair his ability to feel emotions. It was like he had became emotionally blind.
His wife was also never the same again. She would get upset at the man,for how he had become, but she also was tormented by the guilt of knowing that it was really all her fault. She had killed the man that she had been in love with as surely as if she pulled the trigger on a gun. There was no undoing what she had done. The best that she could do for the man was to help him cope with a world that he was no longer capable of fully understanding.
I was determined to not let this happen to Shamira, or to Aziz, whom I had not yet met. So I made sure to go to places with her and Reddy after work. I did things with her in larger groups. Reddy and Shamira came over to my house, and did things with my family. I knew, that she would rather be doing these things with Aziz, but at least, she would not be left lonely and vulnerable, while she waited for Aziz to prepare a place for her.
I encourage her to talk about Aziz, and she told me about his many great attributes. I encouraged her to talk to Aziz more on the phone. I encouraged her to go to Atlanta to spend time with Aziz. I wanted her attention focused on Aziz.
Finally, I met Aziz and talked to him as well. He was a sharp business man, but his work was becoming his life. He was doing a lot of this, so he could make things perfect for Shamira. It was obvious that he loved Shamira, but had gotten into a trap that would keep him from ever actually marrying her.
So I asked him, if everything was perfect when he had first started his business. He told me about some of the challenges that he had overcame. So I asked him if he had tried to overcome all of those challenges first, then when would he have started his business. He replied that he would have never started his business, if he waited for everything to be perfect first. I told him that marriage was the same way.
Not long after that, Aziz and Shamira, started spending a lot more time together. The next time I met Aziz, I told them both that I had to decrease in the life of Shamira, so Aziz could increase. Shortly after that, Shamira got permission from her employer to move to Atlanta and work out of that office, instead of the Tulsa office.
Then Reddy and Miranda set a date for their own wedding. Shortly after that, I got an invitation to the wedding of Shamira and Aziz. So the stage was set for a new chapter in the life of The Three Amigos.
So Reddy and I flew out to Atlanta for the wedding of Shamira and Aziz.
First, there was a marriage supper the night before the wedding that was a lot of fun. I was one of the few guests who was not from India. Of the guests from India, about one third were Hindus, and about two thirds were Muslims.
At the party, the bride and groom had their faces painted with turmeric by the guests as part of their tradition. I noticed that a few of the guests had a small amount of turmeric on their faces as well. When I asked Aziz and Shamira about this, they told me that this was done to mark those who were family. Then they each applied some turmeric to my face.
As far as I know, I was the only American who was also invited to the actual wedding ceremony, called a "Nikah". So Reddy and I left the party early to make sure that we could get plenty of sleep, and be ready to attend the wedding the next morning.
When we got to our hotel, Shamira called Reddy, and told him that we could not attend the actual wedding. I found this to be quite upsetting, but I suspected that someone else must have forced this upon Shamira. I knew that Shamira would not uninvite me to her wedding, unless someone else coerced her.
The next afternoon, Reddy and I attended the wedding reception. I was the only American there. I talked to a number of the guests over the next several hours. I am pretty sure,that Reddy and I were the only Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) at the reception.
I was so glad to see Shamira and Aziz being so happy together. I was determined to not bring up anything to diminish their happiness. My questions about being uninvited from the wedding were going to have to wait, until after their week was over.
I had to leave before the reception was completely over, so we could get enough sleep to catch our early morning flights. Still, I was a little sad that I did not have an opportunity to talk to Shamira and Aziz more to tell them good-bye properly.
After the reception, Shamira called to see if we were alright. I was touched by her concern for our well being, but I felt that she needed to be giving Aziz all of her attention. Reddy informed me that she had done the same for her parents and other family members. The bride and groom made sure that their family members did not need anything, so they could be completely focus on each other. This was another wedding tradition of India.
After I got home I told my wife about my trip. I told her that I was not upset at Shamira for uninviting me from the wedding. I was sure she had a good reason for doing so. Perhaps she had thought that I would have been uncomfortable at the mosque, or her Muslim guests had told her that they would be uncomfortable with a Christian at the mosque. (I had used this opportunity to tell many of them about the simplicity of the Gospel.) I knew that it was nothing personal, because she had also uninvited Reddy. While it was strange being uninvited from the wedding, the Three Amigos were still good friends.
I had realized that the important thing was, that she and Aziz were married. I had been seeking for them to end their long engagement for almost three years. I had kept my promise to attend her wedding when they got married. They were now together as they should have been all along. This had been the goal from the beginning. So I told my wife, "mission accomplished".
Then Shamira called me unexpectedly. She wanted to know how I was doing. I had not planned on talking to her until her week with Aziz was over, so I thought that something must be bothering her. Reddy had told her that I had been a little sad, and it apparently bothered her.
I told her that I was so glad to see her and Aziz finally married. I told her how happy I was to see them so happy together. I had only been a little sad that I had not been able to properly tell them good-bye. I did tell her however that I thought that it was strange to be uninvited from the wedding.
She then explained why I was uninvited from the wedding. As I had suspected, it was nothing personal and it had been forced upon her.
She had reserved the area outside of the prayer hall at the mosque for her Nikah months ahead of time, so all of her guests, even those who were not Muslims, could attend. Then on the night before the wedding, the Imam (Muslim religious professional) in charge of the mosque told her, that he would only perform the Nikah inside the prayer hall. She knew that only Muslims were allowed in the prayer hall.
So both of us Christians, Reddy and I, along with the one third of the guests who were Hindus, were all uninvited from the Nikah by manipulation of this religious professional. Then he put it upon poor Shamira and Aziz to tell all of these guests that they were uninvited from their wedding on the night before their wedding.
Religion can be such an ugly thing.
Yet in a lot of ways, this entire business is similar to a future wedding that is going to be the grandest wedding of all time.
The Children of Truth have been waiting for many years for the Man of Truth (Acts 1:11). They long to be with him (2 Timothy 4:8).
The Man of Truth is preparing a place for the Children of Truth, so that they can always be together with him (John 14:3). In the mean time, they have been occupied with their life on this Earth and pursuing their careers (Acts 1:8). Yet none of these things can fill the void in their souls that only the Man of Truth is meant to fill (Colossians 3:4).
So the Children of Truth are saddened by being separated from the Man of Truth (Matthew 9:15). They live on this Earth to continue his mission, but they still want to be with him more than they want their next breath (Philippians 1:21-22). So while they would rather be spending their time with him, they spend time with each other while he is preparing a place for them (Philippians 1:21-22).
The time of the wedding is near, when the bride will finally be ready to be married (Revelation 19:6-8). The Children of Truth are going to participate in the greatest marriage supper of all time (Revelation 19:9). After that, the bride is going to make a grand entrance, and it will be announced that the time of the wedding has arrived (Revelation 21:1-3). This bride is going to be dressed more beautifully than any bride in all of history has every been dressed (Revelation 21:9-21).
The bride has sent out an invitation for all to come to her wedding, and that invitation is to be extended to others by all who have accepted it (Revelation 22:17).
Yet even though all have been invited to her wedding, not everyone who has received an invitation will come to her wedding (Matthew 22:2-3). Yet there will be others who are willing to come (Matthew 22:8-10).
Still some of them will try to be at the wedding, but will be removed, because they did not do what was necessary to be part of the wedding (Matthew 22:11-13).
Not everyone who claims to belong at the wedding, is going to be part of the wedding (Matthew 7:21-23). Although many are invited to the wedding, only a few will be chosen to be part of the wedding (Matthew 22:14). Only those who come into the House of Truth, and remain there, will be part of the wedding (Luke 13:23-29).
So the Children of Truth must remain in the House of Truth at all times if they want to be part of the wedding, because they do not know when the wedding will happen (Matthew 25:1-13). So they must be always remain in the House of Truth, so they will eat at the marriage supper with the Man of Truth (Luke 12:35-38).
Everyone has been invited to the wedding, but those who do not remain in the House of Truth will find that they have been uninvited to the wedding (Revelation 3:5).
The Children of Truth are to love those who have not come into the House of Truth as much as they love each other (Leviticus 19:34). So they are to invite people of every nation to come into the House of Truth, so that they will not be uninvited from the wedding (Luke 24:46-48). That is all that really matters.
The Children of Truth are to tell others that the invitation to the wedding is accepted, when they come into the House of Truth by making a commitment to obey the Man of Truth, because they believe that his Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). The Father of Truth wants everyone to come into the House of Truth, so that nobody will be uninvited from the wedding (2 Peter 3:9).
Come into the House of Truth!
Last week, Reddy and I flew to Atlanta to attend the wedding of our friend Shamira. Shamira, in like manner, plans on coming to the wedding of Reddy and my daughter Miranda.
The truth is that I would have flown to India to attend her wedding, if necessary. The same is true for Reddy.
Shamira, Reddy, and I are the best of friends. We are such good friends, that when we worked together people called us, "The Three Amigos". When we first met, Shamira was a Muslim, and Reddy was a Hindu. The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) used these two people to finish teaching me how to be a friend of sinners.
Even though Reddy came into the House of Truth, and Shamira has not yet done so, it has not changed my love for either one of them. They are like family to me and I would lay down my life for them. I would no more miss one of their weddings any more than I would miss the wedding of my own children.
This is especially true of Shamira. You see, when I first met Shamira, it was brought to my attention that she was lonely and vulnerable. My people skills really were really poor at the time, so I cannot take any credit for noticing this. The Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) made me aware of this, so I could protect her.
I learned that she had been engaged for many years. She longed to be with her beloved Aziz. Yet he was far away, in Atlanta, preparing a place for her, so they could be together always. In the mean time, she was very occupied with her life in Tulsa and pursuing her career. Yet none of these things, could fill the void in her soul that only Aziz was meant to fill.
I was deeply concerned for her, because I had once knew a man who was more in love with his wife than anyone I have ever met. Yet, his being occupied with his mission that took him away from her for a few days at a time, and his workaholic pursuit of advancing his career to get her bigger, better, newer thing had left her lonely and vulnerable. An evil man took advantage of her vulnerability and she became the unfaithful wife that she had never imagined that she would become.
It is hard to exaggerate how destructive this was to this man. Although the man forgave her because he loved her, and they rebuilt their marriage, he was never really the same.
Something died in him when this happened. He could never see the world in the same way again. At first the only emotion that he seemed to be able to feel was anger, but eventually he simply stopped feeling anything at. He saw the world without emotions in the same way, that some animals see the world without colors. The Father of Truth sent people into his life to repair his ability to trust people, but they could not repair his ability to feel emotions. It was like he had became emotionally blind.
His wife was also never the same again. She would get upset at the man,for how he had become, but she also was tormented by the guilt of knowing that it was really all her fault. She had killed the man that she had been in love with as surely as if she pulled the trigger on a gun. There was no undoing what she had done. The best that she could do for the man was to help him cope with a world that he was no longer capable of fully understanding.
I was determined to not let this happen to Shamira, or to Aziz, whom I had not yet met. So I made sure to go to places with her and Reddy after work. I did things with her in larger groups. Reddy and Shamira came over to my house, and did things with my family. I knew, that she would rather be doing these things with Aziz, but at least, she would not be left lonely and vulnerable, while she waited for Aziz to prepare a place for her.
I encourage her to talk about Aziz, and she told me about his many great attributes. I encouraged her to talk to Aziz more on the phone. I encouraged her to go to Atlanta to spend time with Aziz. I wanted her attention focused on Aziz.
Finally, I met Aziz and talked to him as well. He was a sharp business man, but his work was becoming his life. He was doing a lot of this, so he could make things perfect for Shamira. It was obvious that he loved Shamira, but had gotten into a trap that would keep him from ever actually marrying her.
So I asked him, if everything was perfect when he had first started his business. He told me about some of the challenges that he had overcame. So I asked him if he had tried to overcome all of those challenges first, then when would he have started his business. He replied that he would have never started his business, if he waited for everything to be perfect first. I told him that marriage was the same way.
Not long after that, Aziz and Shamira, started spending a lot more time together. The next time I met Aziz, I told them both that I had to decrease in the life of Shamira, so Aziz could increase. Shortly after that, Shamira got permission from her employer to move to Atlanta and work out of that office, instead of the Tulsa office.
Then Reddy and Miranda set a date for their own wedding. Shortly after that, I got an invitation to the wedding of Shamira and Aziz. So the stage was set for a new chapter in the life of The Three Amigos.
So Reddy and I flew out to Atlanta for the wedding of Shamira and Aziz.
First, there was a marriage supper the night before the wedding that was a lot of fun. I was one of the few guests who was not from India. Of the guests from India, about one third were Hindus, and about two thirds were Muslims.
At the party, the bride and groom had their faces painted with turmeric by the guests as part of their tradition. I noticed that a few of the guests had a small amount of turmeric on their faces as well. When I asked Aziz and Shamira about this, they told me that this was done to mark those who were family. Then they each applied some turmeric to my face.
As far as I know, I was the only American who was also invited to the actual wedding ceremony, called a "Nikah". So Reddy and I left the party early to make sure that we could get plenty of sleep, and be ready to attend the wedding the next morning.
When we got to our hotel, Shamira called Reddy, and told him that we could not attend the actual wedding. I found this to be quite upsetting, but I suspected that someone else must have forced this upon Shamira. I knew that Shamira would not uninvite me to her wedding, unless someone else coerced her.
The next afternoon, Reddy and I attended the wedding reception. I was the only American there. I talked to a number of the guests over the next several hours. I am pretty sure,that Reddy and I were the only Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) at the reception.
I was so glad to see Shamira and Aziz being so happy together. I was determined to not bring up anything to diminish their happiness. My questions about being uninvited from the wedding were going to have to wait, until after their week was over.
I had to leave before the reception was completely over, so we could get enough sleep to catch our early morning flights. Still, I was a little sad that I did not have an opportunity to talk to Shamira and Aziz more to tell them good-bye properly.
After the reception, Shamira called to see if we were alright. I was touched by her concern for our well being, but I felt that she needed to be giving Aziz all of her attention. Reddy informed me that she had done the same for her parents and other family members. The bride and groom made sure that their family members did not need anything, so they could be completely focus on each other. This was another wedding tradition of India.
After I got home I told my wife about my trip. I told her that I was not upset at Shamira for uninviting me from the wedding. I was sure she had a good reason for doing so. Perhaps she had thought that I would have been uncomfortable at the mosque, or her Muslim guests had told her that they would be uncomfortable with a Christian at the mosque. (I had used this opportunity to tell many of them about the simplicity of the Gospel.) I knew that it was nothing personal, because she had also uninvited Reddy. While it was strange being uninvited from the wedding, the Three Amigos were still good friends.
I had realized that the important thing was, that she and Aziz were married. I had been seeking for them to end their long engagement for almost three years. I had kept my promise to attend her wedding when they got married. They were now together as they should have been all along. This had been the goal from the beginning. So I told my wife, "mission accomplished".
Then Shamira called me unexpectedly. She wanted to know how I was doing. I had not planned on talking to her until her week with Aziz was over, so I thought that something must be bothering her. Reddy had told her that I had been a little sad, and it apparently bothered her.
I told her that I was so glad to see her and Aziz finally married. I told her how happy I was to see them so happy together. I had only been a little sad that I had not been able to properly tell them good-bye. I did tell her however that I thought that it was strange to be uninvited from the wedding.
She then explained why I was uninvited from the wedding. As I had suspected, it was nothing personal and it had been forced upon her.
She had reserved the area outside of the prayer hall at the mosque for her Nikah months ahead of time, so all of her guests, even those who were not Muslims, could attend. Then on the night before the wedding, the Imam (Muslim religious professional) in charge of the mosque told her, that he would only perform the Nikah inside the prayer hall. She knew that only Muslims were allowed in the prayer hall.
So both of us Christians, Reddy and I, along with the one third of the guests who were Hindus, were all uninvited from the Nikah by manipulation of this religious professional. Then he put it upon poor Shamira and Aziz to tell all of these guests that they were uninvited from their wedding on the night before their wedding.
Religion can be such an ugly thing.
Yet in a lot of ways, this entire business is similar to a future wedding that is going to be the grandest wedding of all time.
The Children of Truth have been waiting for many years for the Man of Truth (Acts 1:11). They long to be with him (2 Timothy 4:8).
The Man of Truth is preparing a place for the Children of Truth, so that they can always be together with him (John 14:3). In the mean time, they have been occupied with their life on this Earth and pursuing their careers (Acts 1:8). Yet none of these things can fill the void in their souls that only the Man of Truth is meant to fill (Colossians 3:4).
So the Children of Truth are saddened by being separated from the Man of Truth (Matthew 9:15). They live on this Earth to continue his mission, but they still want to be with him more than they want their next breath (Philippians 1:21-22). So while they would rather be spending their time with him, they spend time with each other while he is preparing a place for them (Philippians 1:21-22).
The time of the wedding is near, when the bride will finally be ready to be married (Revelation 19:6-8). The Children of Truth are going to participate in the greatest marriage supper of all time (Revelation 19:9). After that, the bride is going to make a grand entrance, and it will be announced that the time of the wedding has arrived (Revelation 21:1-3). This bride is going to be dressed more beautifully than any bride in all of history has every been dressed (Revelation 21:9-21).
The bride has sent out an invitation for all to come to her wedding, and that invitation is to be extended to others by all who have accepted it (Revelation 22:17).
Yet even though all have been invited to her wedding, not everyone who has received an invitation will come to her wedding (Matthew 22:2-3). Yet there will be others who are willing to come (Matthew 22:8-10).
Still some of them will try to be at the wedding, but will be removed, because they did not do what was necessary to be part of the wedding (Matthew 22:11-13).
Not everyone who claims to belong at the wedding, is going to be part of the wedding (Matthew 7:21-23). Although many are invited to the wedding, only a few will be chosen to be part of the wedding (Matthew 22:14). Only those who come into the House of Truth, and remain there, will be part of the wedding (Luke 13:23-29).
So the Children of Truth must remain in the House of Truth at all times if they want to be part of the wedding, because they do not know when the wedding will happen (Matthew 25:1-13). So they must be always remain in the House of Truth, so they will eat at the marriage supper with the Man of Truth (Luke 12:35-38).
Everyone has been invited to the wedding, but those who do not remain in the House of Truth will find that they have been uninvited to the wedding (Revelation 3:5).
The Children of Truth are to love those who have not come into the House of Truth as much as they love each other (Leviticus 19:34). So they are to invite people of every nation to come into the House of Truth, so that they will not be uninvited from the wedding (Luke 24:46-48). That is all that really matters.
The Children of Truth are to tell others that the invitation to the wedding is accepted, when they come into the House of Truth by making a commitment to obey the Man of Truth, because they believe that his Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). The Father of Truth wants everyone to come into the House of Truth, so that nobody will be uninvited from the wedding (2 Peter 3:9).
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Wedding
posted by The House Of Truth @ August 06, 2016
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