Jesus Prom

A guest post by Jon Weece

My wife Allison and I were in a restaurant eating lunch when an older couple came into the section where we were seated. They were probably in their late seventies, and he was pushing his wife in a wheelchair. It looked as though she had suffered a stroke.After the waiter set the menus down on our table, we both watched as the husband knelt down in front of his wife, gently holding her hands, and spoke to her with a smile on his face. It was as though they were the only two people in the restaurant. He didn’t seem concerned with anyone other than his wife.

It was as though they were the only two people in the restaurant.

He put the brake on the wheelchair, then he scooped her motionless body out of the chair and set her down in the booth. He situated her napkin, plate, and silverware where she could reach them. When her food came, he cut it up and fed it to her; and from time to time, he got up from the table to wipe her mouth. At one point during the meal, I watched him lean across the table, take hold of his wife’s hand, and smile as he spoke to her.Tears rolled down her cheeks.“What do you think he’s saying to her?” Allison asked.“For richer, for poorer . . . in sickness and in health . . . till death do we part,” I said.Tears filled our eyes as we imagined how long they had been married and all they had been through together. And yet it seemed as though they were on their first date.When we die to self, we give life to others. Relationships rise and fall based on each person’s willingness or unwillingness to die to self.

Relationships rise and fall based on each person’s willingness or unwillingness to die to self.

Relationships rise when a person is selfless.Relationships fall when a person is selfish.No one modeled this better than Jesus. Jesus is the standard by which all selfless behavior is measured—He died so we could live.His motives were driven by one very important four-letter word: Love.Love is what a marriage is built on, but it is never independent. Love is always dependent. Someone always gives. Someone always receives. Love empties itself, because love emptied Himself.

Love empties itself, because love emptied Himself.

I have learned a lot about loving my wife throughout the years but one night in particular has changed how I look at love.Every year we throw a party at our church for 2,000 mentally and physically challenged adults. We call the party Jesus Prom.On this night, love is given out freely. As a result, love is received.Jesus Prom is one of the clearest expressions of love and reminds me of how love should be modeled in my marriage. Love was never meant to be hoarded or stockpiled; it was meant to be given and received.

Love was never meant to be hoarded or stockpiled; it was meant to be given and received.

The more love we give away, the more love we have. God makes sure that we never run out of what he never runs out of.Love.The more I love my wife, the more I fall in love with God. The more I fall in love with God, the more I love my wife.

Jon Weece is the lead follower at Southland Church in Lexington, Kentucky. He's a big fan of his wife, Allison, and two kids, Ava and Silas. Jon loves cookouts with his friends, ESPN, hunting, fried chicken, concerts, TV shows about Alaska, and ice cream.