As I am writing my next-to-last article, I am waiting to preside over my sixth wedding rehearsal this year. Each of these weddings has been a blessing to me, but I must confess that the one I will be doing tomorrow is probably going to be my favorite. It is not that any of the other weddings were not special, but this wedding truly is “A Love Story.”
AtkinsIt was 10 years ago on the very day that I am writing this article that they met. Darrell was smitten the first time he laid eyes on Maranda. So much so that, even though she was about to go on a date with another guy, he took a Sharpie marker and wrote his name and number on her arm. Now, granted, I do not think this was the most romantic move I have ever heard of, but it worked. In the following days, she would call him, and their lives would be forever changed. There would be ups and downs during their relationship, and at times they might have even wondered if this person really was the one that they wanted to spend the rest of their life with – yet, they stayed together. After being together for a couple of years, Maranda gave Darrell the news that he would be a father – and seven years ago, Joshua was born and their love for each other was sealed.
Some of you are doing the math, you’re looking at the time line, and you have already figured out that, by default of me doing their wedding, this couple was not married. There may even be some who are thinking, “I can’t believe the SCBC president is writing about this in his article. Doesn’t he know that they were sinners?” Oh, yes, my friend, I know that they were sinners. That is where their story really becomes “A Love Story.”
You see, Darrell prayed to receive Christ at a concert we hosted, and I baptized him this past Easter. Maranda prayed to receive Christ during our premarital counseling sessions, and I baptized her this past Mother’s Day. Joshua prayed to receive Christ just a few weeks ago, and I baptized him on the last Sunday of September. A couple who was lost, and trying their best to raise their young son, have now experienced “A Love Story” that the entire world needs to hear. They were sinners separated from a holy God, but someone loved them enough to tell them “A Love Story” about God’s love for them.
As I come into the final weeks of being the SCBC president, my heart’s desire is that more SCBC members, pastors and churches would care enough to tell “A Love Story” like Darrell and Maranda’s so that more people would hear the good news. Their story is our story; we, too, were sinners separated from a holy God, but someone loved us enough to tell us “A Love Story” that, because of God’s great love for us, we could be saved. Great Commission Living requires each of us to share with a lost world “A Love Story” that has the power to change their lives, to the glory of God.
– Atkins is pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.