You Choose - Monday Marriage Minder

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved." 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 NIV

It would have been easier to stay on the path. It would have been easier to do what everybody else was doing. It also would have been easier on my body to do the bare minimum. However, in doing those things, I would have missed the experience of traveling the road less taken and being rewarded with amazing beauty and a memory etched into the minds of a young man and his father.

Hiking wooded trails and scaling rock ledges is hardly the norm for me but the opportunity presented itself and I jumped at the chance. We had been walking along the trail for a while when someone pointed out a a narrow and rock-lined crag in a cliff. After hearing a remark about it being too hard of a climb for the "old man", all it took was one look at my son, Brandon, and we were climbing.

When we reached the top, the view below was breathtaking as we looked over several miles of forest. While we were up there, I couldn't help but think about how many times we, as couples, are content with just doing the bare minimum, following the crowd on a path that never leads to grand views and wonderful experiences within our marriages.

If our marriage is our mission, shouldn't we "do" marriage for the glory of God? Is God impressed when we simply exist with each other - the bare minimum? Is that the sum of his plan for our marriages? Is that the image of Christ's relationship with his church that we want to convey to others?

I could have stayed on the path, but choosing to climb that ledge (and nearly every other ledge we found from then on) with my son paid immediate dividends and will, undoubtedly, pay more as his young life unfolds. In the same way, if I choose to love my wife for the glory of God, what dividends will that pay into the lives and souls of those within our sphere of influence?

The choice is ours to make. With my mind on the mission, I choose to love for the glory of God!

For Marriages!

Your Marriage - Your Mission

Think about this statement. Every individual has a God-ordained mission. Just as every individual has a mission, so does every marriage - especially Christian marriages. Our mission as married couples is multi-faceted, which we will begin to address here.

In God's Word, the Bible, there are several main themes outlined from cover to cover. One could say that the Bible's main theme is Theo-centric - with God as the grand subject. Others might maintain that the main theme is mankind’s relationship to God. Still others, including myself, believe that the primary theme of the Scriptures is reconciliation -namely, God's plan to reconcile mankind to himself. It is in this plan, this ongoing and blood-bought labor of love that we find our mission in our marriages.

For his reasons alone, God chose to use us, his people, to be his mouth, hands and feet in restoring mankind to himself. Our enemy, Satan, reeked havoc on that fateful day in the garden. Hence Gods all- knowing and pre-fall command to mankind - "increase in number and rule over the earth and subdue it. (Gen 1:28) The fall of man, shifted the perfect to imperfect, the balanced to in-balanced and from good to evil. The fall resulted with mankind taking on a sinful mind and a nature displeasing to God.

...the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Rom 8:7-8 NIV)

However, God has enlisted every married couple to aid in this reconciliation endeavor.

Has not [the LORD] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. (Mal 2:15 NIV)

Sadly, many individuals and marriages within our own families, communities and even our churches are still marked by that devastating day. But we as married Christians, even though our human nature still bears remnants of that mark, can be a light to those individuals and couples. We can facilitate reconciliation by being examples of Christ's love in the way we demonstrate that love to our spouse. Our marriages are entrusted instruments in God's hands to lead others into the restoring balance and peace that a reconciling relationship with Jesus Christ can bring.

In his book, Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas writes, "We cannot discuss with any integrity the ending of "a relation of enmity" and the dawning of "peace and goodwill" if our marriages are marked with divorce, fighting and animosity." (Zondervan 2000) Additionally, Thomas asks a very pointed question. "How can I tell my children that God's promise of reconciliation is secure when they see that my own promise doesn't mean a thing?" (Zondervan 2000)

Marriages are foundational to God's mission of reconciliation. As a Christian couple, your marriage is your mission! More on this in future weeks.