October 15, 2007

• Post-Passion[Boston] Reflection - Married-hood

  So this past Friday & Saturday I was a volunteer at the Passion conference held in the Agganis Arena at BU.  This was my second time working as a volunteer at Passion, but it was very significant for me as the Passion conference was finally here in my hometown, BOSTON!  Ever since Louie & crew came up here 4 years ago at the Orpheum theater, I've been hoping they would come back again & God answered that prayer powerfully in the span of two days.

  Yes, there is much to say about the memorable moments of the conference, but for now, I have a reflection about marriage after some conversations I had during the conference.  It was a blessing as well to see Sofia getting a well deserved break from her residency and just soaking in everything that was going on with the conference.  She needed it I believe and I hope that she felt really refreshed and refocused.

  A few years ago, a brother of mine gave me some counsel that I'm still very grateful for to this day.  It was around the time when I was pondering whether I should pursue a possible courtship with Sofia.   In short, I was actually grasping for any good reason to NOT date, but I couldn't think of any that was actually reasonable and not tainted by my own worries.

  After listening to me a bit, this brother shared his thoughts about the situation, and asked me one crucial question:

  "Do you believe that you and Sofia produce more fruit a part or together?"

  I was speechless.  It was such a deep question that it did take me a while to answer it.  The answer would involve the decision of whether to pursue or not, but it involved a more important aspect...ministry and effectiveness for Christ.  That was a bigger issue to deal with.

  Fast-forward to last Saturday night.  I found myself speaking with Shelly Giglio, a lady who's been a part of the Passion movement since it began, and the wife of Louie Giglio, the guy who was given this crazy idea called Passion.  We were talking about the need for the Church to pursue social justice and the work that God was doing in Boston.  Eventually, Sofia shows up once the doors to the arena were opened.  I introduced her to Shelly and we told her that we're engaged and when the wedding is going to be.  Naturally, Shelly congratulated us, but then said something that stuck.

  She mentioned how she & Louie had been married for over 22 years now and that it has been a testimony of God's faithfulness to them.  Eventually, Shelly had to get back to other things that were going on in the conference and I was thankful for that short time conversing together.  It made me think, 22 years of marriage they've been married and have served together in such a capacity.  That was a picture to me of what it means to produce fruit together as a couple.  Serving together for the purpose of extending the Kingdom, hand in hand, until death do they part.

  This isn't to say that Sofia & I will be serving God together in the exact same way, or same ministry even, but I really hope in 22 years, we can say too that God has been faithful and proven Himself in our marriage.  As great as weddings and married-hood are, the Glory of God is even better, and to leverage our marriage to something that'll outlast everything sounds truly fruitful to me.

  • 1:07 pm
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