We recently attended a few wonderful, godly weddings and it's put me to thinking on marriage a lot. It helps that this is the month of our anniversary! 😍
I love how marriage is such a beautiful picture of Christ and His Bride. Also, how it teaches us so much about our relationship with the Lord.
We've been listening to a message on marriage by Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage, What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy. It has been so, so good!
John Fuller says that one of the best wedding gifts God gave you was a full-length mirror called your spouse. If there had been a card attached, it would've said, "Here's to helping you discover what you're really like."
Here is a quote from Gary:
"I believe in every aspect of marriage, there's the invitation to become more like Christ. The problem is that we have to accept that as one of the purposes of marriage. I got married for entirely opposite reasons. I wanted somebody to love me. I wanted somebody to appreciate me. I wanted somebody to occasionally serve me. I'm embarrassed to say that. And it wasn't until I really began to understand that marriage is about becoming, that I really began to get a feel for why God created marriage and what it could do. We don't have this sense that we're becoming someone. We have this sense that we want someone to be there for us. We don't even have the sense that we need to become something we're not. In fact, we kinda define love as, you're supposed to accept me as I am and appreciate me as I am and respect me as I am. And so, we lose that whole emphasis that marriage can call us to become someone else. More importantly, call us to become more like Jesus Christ."
A few other key points:
*Holiness is what protects happiness. When you have 2 people who are fighting over selfish things, there's no way to resolve it. But when they are both seeking to grow in holiness, resolution can be found.
*Become ONE isn't easy. We have to die to the sins that push us apart.
*God has a mission for each one of us. Sometimes our most difficult relationships are the tools He uses to give us the character so we can succeed in that mission.
I encourage you to listen to the whole message at
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/episodes/broadcast/embracing-gods-desire-for-your-marriage-part-1-of-2/. Be sure to listen to both parts!
And get the book! 😍
