A Great Substitute

A Great Substitute
This December 20th Catherine and I will celebrate our 56th wedding anniversary. I always thought that people who reached their Golden Anniversary were ancient and decrepit. Somehow I have difficulty thinking of myself in those terms, but I do know that 56 years are a whole lot of years.
We were married on a Saturday afternoon in Hackensack, NJ. It was a great day and there are so many wonderful things that stand out as memories, but there is one part of the wedding that was intensifying. We were standing around waiting for the ceremony to get under way when a phone call came to the church. It was from Dave Curtis who was coming to sing at our wedding. Dave had left the New Jersey Turnpike at the wrong exit and was lost in a section of the area that meant there was no way he could be to the church on time for wedding.
One of the ushers (groomsmen today) was Joe Sastic whose father was on the police force in Clifton, NJ. He also sang in churches and youth meetings in the area and was known as the “Singing Cop of Clifton.” Joe’s dad was at the wedding and we made contact with him asking him if he could fill in for the wedding. He had a case of laryngitis, but he said that he would do the job. He did a fantastic job and Catherine didn’t know that it wasn’t David Curtis (whom she had never met) until after the wedding.
It took a special friend to forget his laryngitis and fill a special need. We still feel in debt to the “Singing Cop of Clifton” who did something so special for a good friend. He was only a substitute, but no one except Joe and me knew that fact.
As great as that was, there is one who is a much greater substitute. Jesus came and took our place on the Cross. He gave His life that we might have a new life in Him. The Bible tells us that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He was a substitute for those who had turned their backs on God and desperately needed to establish a relationship with God. There was no way that we could find peace with God, but He could do it for us. I am very thankful to have Him for my substitute.