Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Marry in France

Teresa Neumann-Commentary : Aug 28, 2014
Lisa Respers – CNN

After nine years of living together, and saying they wouldn't marry until gay marriage was legal, the controversial pair exchanged vows at a chapel on their estate in the south of France. Is it cause for congratulations, or a collective rolling of the eyes?

(Correns, France)—Though I was raised Catholic—a faith I credit with instilling in me a conviction of right and wrong—I wasn't always a Christian. (Photo via CNN.com)

In my 20's I completely turned my back and God and vacillated between being an atheist and an agnostic. To please my parents, when I married my unbelieving, pot-smoking, long-haired rock-guitarist husband on the spur of the moment (after living together for five years) we tried to find a pastor or priest who would officiate the ceremony.

Ultimately only one, a Lutheran pastor, agreed to marry us on the condition we have an hour-long counseling session with him. All the others we contacted refused to marry us. Some hung up on me in disgust, thinking my request was an insult or a joke considering our situation. Their responses only served to deepen my animosity towards Christians.

"This is why I want nothing to do with the Church," I soberly informed my mother.

That was 37 years ago, and guess what? I'm still happily married to the same man—sans the long hair and pot—but he's still a rock star ;-)

Two years after we were married we were radically saved. That's another story in itself, but suffice to say that our wedding experience had a powerful impact on my psyche. Firstly, I didn't expect to appreciate the sense of legitimacy after we were "hitched." It felt wonderful and "right."

Secondly, during the two-year time period between when we were married and saved, I couldn't shake the kindness and mercy of that Lutheran pastor who married us. It deeply impacted me. In retrospect, I now understand why the other pastors refused our request. But to this day, the risk the Lutheran pastor took to marry us (I'm sure he prayed about it first), almost moves me to tears.

I believe that when my husband and I did the "right" thing, in essence we allowed the Holy Spirit to begin to have more access into our lives.

All that to say, the news that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were married on Saturday in a chapel at their Chateau Miraval home in Correns, France, can be perceived by Christians many different ways. I'm sure some will be offended that the two divorcees were married before—and very publicly and famously divorced. Others might take issue with the fact that Pitt and Jolie vocally supported same-sex marriage, saying they wouldn't marry until gays had the same "right" to do so under the law.

What can we expect, I ask from experience, of those not yet walking in the light?

Say what you will, but as for me, I extend my congratulations to the newlyweds and have every hope in prayer that God's Spirit will do a work in them that will defy critics and eventually bring glory to Christ.

To read details of their wedding, click here.