Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Engagement ‘Still Whispers of Eden,’ Says Pastor
Editor’s Note: Pastor and talented writer Rich Bitterman, who describes himself as “a country preacher from the Ozarks” and a Kansas City Chiefs fan, states in his recent post (below) that Taylor Swift’s “Yes to Marriage” is maybe “Good News for America.” Bitterman uses today’s news to draw the truth about marriage from the Bible… and is a post filled with the hope of Jesus Christ.
“I don’t know where Taylor or Travis stand with Christ. I pray they know Him,” Bitterman writes. “But their engagement, broadcast across the world, still whispers of Eden. It reminds us that deep in the human heart is a longing for covenant…because God placed it there.”
Taylor Said Yes to Marriage and Maybe That’s Good News for America
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Are Getting Married!
By RICH BITTERMAN
One is pop royalty. The other, a Kansas City king. Together, they’ve hijacked every news feed, stitched their love story across a million reels and retweets.
Instagram caught the proposal. Comment sections melted. America, in all its superstition and scroll-happy devotion, gasped with something that almost sounded like hope.
And I can’t pretend I didn’t feel it, too.
I’ve been a Chiefs fan since the ’80s, when we still lost more than we won, I can recite the names of heartbreak seasons. I watched Travis Kelce rise into stardom, into maturity, grit, leadership.
Now he’s dropping to one knee on a global stage, and something about it feels heavy. Bigger than celebrity.
My Grandma, Lady Di, and the Echo of Eden
When I was nine, my grandma woke us up in the black stillness of early morning. My sister, my cousin, and I piled into the car, chasing the nearest tv signal we could find. We were hunting reception to watch the royal wedding of Lady Diana.
We sat cross-legged, eyes wide at the veils, the vows, the ceremony. I didn’t understand much, but I understood this: marriage mattered.
Before there was sin, there was a wedding. Before the Fall, there was a feast.
The first pages of Scripture doesn’t open with a war. It opens with a match made by the Maker Himself. Adam. Eve. One flesh. And the God of the universe smiling over the union He authored.
Reclaiming Wonder in a Culture of Collapse
We’re a people allergic to permanence now. We date for convenience. We cohabit to try things out. We leave when it gets hard. Marriage, in this era, is often treated like a tax bracket or a Netflix subscription. Useful. Cancelable.
But Scripture doesn’t flinch on this topic. A man shall leave his father and mother. He shall cleave to his wife. The two shall become one.
This is not flesh that can be unbraided by boredom or hurt. One.
Jesus said it Himself: “What God has joined together, let no man separate.” This is no simple social construct or merely a civil agreement. This is Eden ground. A garden gift. And the war against it is not new.
The Hard Truth in the Headlines
I’ve been married more than three decades. Not to a church girl. We were both lost when we said “I do.” And we didn’t know that one day, we’d both bow the knee to Jesus. We didn’t have a blueprint, only brokenness. But grace saw the mess, and God gave me a woman who would one day love Christ more than me.
We didn’t start unequally yoked. We started unaware. And God, in mercy, yoked us to Himself.
That’s the only reason our marriage stands.
There were times we didn’t like each other. Seasons (although short) where silence lived in our house louder than words. But grace stayed. And we learned to stay, too.
That’s why I believe this truth down to the marrow:
Marriage is not about being happy. It is about being holy. And holiness always hurts before it heals.
Build a Hearth or Burn the House
Our culture treats sex like it’s casual. The Bible treats it like it’s nuclear. The joining of two bodies isn’t recreational; it’s covenantal. It’s glue. Glory. And when it’s misused, it scorches more than skin. It chars the soul.
Scripture doesn’t blush. It names the sin because it names the stakes:
Adultery destroys trust.
Fornication damages future fidelity.
Pornography hollows the heart.
And every one of them, if unrepented, is a noose to the soul.
God isn’t stingy. He’s protective. He doesn’t say “no” because He hates you. He says “wait” because He treasures you. His boundaries are not prison bars. They are wedding aisles.
Why We Still Need Wedding Ceremonies
A marriage isn’t a private affair. It’s a public declaration. That’s why we gather. That’s why we dress up. That’s why Jesus did His first miracle at a wedding, not a synagogue.
Marriage rearranges every loyalty. Your spouse becomes your nearest kin. Your fiercest advocate. The one person on earth who must know the worst of you and choose you still.
So we don’t whisper vows in the dark. We say them loud. In front of friends, enemies, exes, and God.
Because when two become one…It’s a blessing.
A Chiefs Ring, a Pop Star, and the Shadow of the Cross
So what do we do with the Taylor & Travis moment?
We let it remind us: even the world still longs for something sacred. Behind the filters and fireworks, there is a flicker of Eden still alive in us. We want love to last. We want vows that mean something. We want a union that sings.
But only Christ can write that kind of story.
Marriage is more than ceremony. It is gospel reenactment. Christ, the Groom. His Church, the bride. A bloody cross instead of a bouquet. Nails instead of rings. A covenant not broken by betrayal or time.
And one day soon, there will be another wedding. The skies will split. The trumpet will cry. The Groom will return.
And every faithful marriage, every quiet act of fidelity, every tear-streaked “I forgive you” will have been worth it. Because the real wedding is yet to come.
I don’t know where Taylor or Travis stand with Christ. I pray they know Him. But their engagement, broadcast across the world, still whispers of Eden. It reminds us that deep in the human heart is a longing for covenant…because God placed it there.
And that, friends, is a love story worth living for.
It won’t be televised.
It’ll be eternal.
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Featured photo: Instagram/screengrab
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I’m Pastor Rich Bitterman, a country preacher from the Ozarks. Guy Howard, the old Walking Preacher, once wore out his boots traveling from church to church, meeting strangers and sharing the gospel. I’m doing the same today on digital roads. Each post is a visit. Each verse is a step. Let’s walk the Word together.
