Hopefully you are well aware that we are in our second week of our Unfailing Love challenge at church. As you may know, this series is based on looking at God’s attributes and putting them into our marriage.
You may have looked at all that we are doing and some of it may seem a little corny. However, the fact of the matter is that looking at God’s attributes then applying them in our lives is the foundation for not only a victorious Christian life but also for a lasting marriage.
But why should we have a lasting marriage? One radio talk show I have listened to says that it is a great accomplishment to have a long marriage. I ask again, what is its purpose? That we may be good and moral people? Certainly that is a noble goal, but it is not the goal which God has set for us. There is something much bigger, deeper and can change the way you think about and act out your marriage when you realize it.
The truth is simple yet complicated and deep. It is much like an iceberg, only partially seen, it extends much deeper and broader than you realize. That truth is: Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church; and Wives, be subject unto your husbands as the church is to Christ. Why? Ephesians 5 is where the reason is revealed. In its entire context, we are told marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. (This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:32)
When our marriages are not what they should be, we distort or mess up the picture that God would have us be for the world as Christ and the church. We are in a cosmic play displaying how our Lord treats his bride and how His bride responds and follows.
When we fight or are in disharmony, it is as though you have a beautiful painting then take a paintbrush with black paint and make a long streak through the middle so that you cannot tell what the painting really looks like. When a husband mistreats his wife, or a wife decides to become the leader of the home, it distorts and blurs the picture God would have us paint. There are many different scenarios but I hope you get the point that when we fail in our roles in marriage to play our part in this play – we darken what marriage represents.
The world outside the church ought to be able to look at our marriages and know how the relationship between the church and Christ works. Sadly, this is not so, but it can be changed with us. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands as unto the Lord. This is not a popular message in our modern time, but this is what God has told us to do and has shown us how to do it.
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