Do you remember your wedding vows?
“I, (Name), take thee, (Spouse), to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
“When couples stick together through difficult times, remain faithful to one another, and actively work to resolve problems, positive long-term outcomes (while not guaranteed) are common.” —Paul Amato
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” —Ephesians 5:22-33
The goal of marriage is oneness. The goal is that the two shall become one flesh as the Bible states. That’s the ultimate goal.
There is another goal that’s implied in this passage. Paul in verse 26 says that Christ’s goal in loving the church and giving himself up for her is to sanctify her.
Sanctification Is The
Of Being Made Holy
Contrary to popular belief, what this means is you don’t have to clean yourself up to come to church.You can come as you are…but you won’t stay the way that you came in.
The goal in marriage is the same thing. You are married to the perfect person to change you into who Christ wants you to become.
You Are Married To The Perfect Perfecter Of An Imperfect You
“Marriage has been invented to be a vehicle for your sanctification and for your redemption. The basic purpose of marriage is to turn you into somebody holy. That’s what it’s there for.” —Tim Keller
Marriage Is One Of God’s Tools In
In the Greek, the word we translate as patience, is Makrothymea. It means long temperament.
“Older cultures sought ways to be edified by their sufferings by looking inside, but Western people are often simply outraged by their suffering—and they seek to change things outside so that the suffering never happens again.” —Tim Keller
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,” —2 Corinthians 4:17
Marriage is a gift to us to teach us how to endure, how to finish well, how to be patient in adversity.
1 Timothy 1:16 “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
How Do We Become More Patient?
Prayer Points
- Father, where do I need to extend grace in my life?
- Jesus, where are you asking me to suffer well?
- Lord, how can I be more patient with my spouse?