Problem – Free Marriages
Did this week's title grab your attention? I hope it did. However, I have some bad, but probably not surprising news for you. Problem-free marriages don't exist in this world. In fact, problem-laden marriages are one of the reasons Jesus left his throne in heaven to enter our world as a human. Over the last several weeks in adult institute we have been talking together about how marriage is hard; seeking together for hope as we surrender ourselves to the work of the Gospel in our lives.
Paul Tripp in his book entitled Marriage affirms our struggles when he says this, "There has never been a problem-free marriage, and there won't be until we reside on the other side. God has located marriage in a broken and groaning world, where two flawed people, still struggling with remaining sin, commit to the most extensive, intimate, and long term of all human relationships." Several observations jump to my mind.
First, I can hear a few "Hallelujahs". You thought you were the only ones who found marriage difficult. But now the veneer is off, the truth is out, we all struggle. One of the ways that we give grace to others is by acknowledging our struggles and inviting people to share in our journey. I see lots of evidence that we at Christ Church are continuing to grow in the grace of honesty and helping one another along the way.
Second, God really does have a plan. Contrary to some of our more pessimistic thinking, God did not give your spouse to you to antagonize you, but rather as the occasion for his grace to work within us. As we realize our inability to truly love this creature, to serve them without expectation of reciprocation; as we experience forgiveness and grace from them in our worst moments, we realize that God really does love us and is working to forge us into his image. In other words, embraced with honest humility, marriage is God's good design for our sanctification.
Third, in this season of Advent, we lift our voices in longing for our heavenly bridegroom to come and effect blessing "far as the curse is found", including our marriages. Right now we are in between Jesus' first coming and his second, the great parousia. But he has promised us, in the vein of the Jewish bridegroom, that he has gone ahead "to prepare a place for us". Our current marriages are but a picture of the great marriage, our temporal weddings but a foretaste of the great Wedding Feast of the Lamb. This is good news for all of our marriages and especially for those who have very little joy in marriage. There is a problem-free, joy-filled marriage on the horizon, Jesus as our Bridegroom!
Photo by Wedding Dreamz on Unsplash