"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!
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