As we pick back up with this study of the Bible on Church, current events may have a slight impact on this post simply due to the subject of the text. In my last post I talked about how posting different Bible verses doesn't help the discussion. In a society that has no real regard for God or His standards, the Bible is quickly thrown out when it comes to standards of holiness that infringe on our desires and lifestyles.
I am usually one who doesn't share my opinion unless it is asked for. I was very reluctant to start this blog three years ago for that very reason (I also didn't feel like I really had that much to say that was really worth saying, which is where the Blog name and URL came from). But for those who take the time and actually read these, it shows that you do care what I'm thinking and saying, and in a way you're asking for my opinion. All of that being said, I don't want to create more division, but I also am called to preach the truth in love. Not fully sure where this is going yet, so I don't know how much of a heads up this gives, but let's see where we end up.
Ephesians 5.22-31, is a passage that has been used in almost every wedding I have ever attended. It was used in my own and my mentor broke it down to two words, one for both my wife and I, to remember. My word was "cherish", and I believe her's was "honor" or something along those lines (I'm not positive because it wasn't mine to remember, but I know she could tell you). But more important than all of that is the idea that the Church is the bride of Christ.
The union that exists between a husband and wife is a mirror for the relationship that Christ desires with the Church, His bride. As a husband my job is to love, protect, and cherish my wife. I am captivated by her as she unveils her beauty. I am to lead her into a deeper relationship with Christ, and guide her in the paths of righteousness and holiness. It is my job to help her see who God is, a strong warrior who will fight for her, and who is captivated by her.
I am to love her as I love myself. That means I provide for her and take care of her. I build her up and encourage her, and again, I am captivated by her so that she can unveil her beauty. She is able to live to her fullest because I provide a foundation in God for her to stand upon. I am not God, nor am I taking His place in her life, but I am to help her see and be all that He created for her to be.
A wife is to honor her husband, and follow his leadership as he leads the family closer to Christ. Today, many women hate the idea of submission, of being led, and being guided. I have met so many, of different ages, that feel this way. This role of "being subject" as the test has it, is not saying to be a door mat that is walked all over. But it is saying to be subject to the Godly leadership of your husband, just as you would be to God. This can get complicated when the leadership isn't Godly, but I am not diving into that right now.
In a marriage relationship God has placed the man as the head, and it is the responsibility of the man to love his family as God does. It is the responsibility of the man to protect his family as God does. And it is the responsibility of the man to guide his family in righteous living.
And it is in this husband and wife marriage relationship that we see the relationship the Christ desires with the Church, His bride. Christ is the head, and He will love His Bride more passionately than anyone else ever could. He will protect her more fiercely than anyone else ever could. He will lead her into holiness, and cleanse her in order to present her righteous, in a way that nothing else ever could. And Christ will delight in her more than anyone else ever could. The Church is to submit to Christ, to honor Him, and follow Him. And the Church is to be one with Christ.
The primary purpose of marriage is not procreation, as has been the key argument in defense of traditional marriage. The primary purpose of marriage is the unity of two different people coming together as one, in a way the shows the relationship that Christ desires with each of us. Life giving power is a result of that union, just as the Church has new life because of Christ.
And in marriage a husband and wife are able to reflect the full character of God. I've said many times that men and women are different, that they bear different parts of the image of God. I am strong, and I have a warriors heart. I can stand up to opposition and I can defend what is right. My wife is gentle and kind. She is honestly the kindest person I have ever met. She has a heart for people that genuinely cares for them on a deep level. I'm rugged, she's sensitive (not in a negative way). We are different, and we bear different parts of the image of God.
When a man and woman come together and become one in marriage the two halves of the image of God come together again and are able to show what God is like to the world. You have the power of God and the nurturing side of God. You have His strength and His compassion. And it is only when the two halves come together that they can make a whole. And it is the full image of God that gives life.
In marriage we see the relationship that God desires with each of us. God desires to love me, comfort me, and nurture me in ways far greater than my wife ever could. And God desires to protect my wife and be captivated her in ways I could not ever do. God desires intimate unity with each of us. And to help us understand that He gave us marriage. To help us see who He is, and to see the relationship that He desires with each of us, God has given marriage to a man and a woman. That is what marriage is about.
I realize that sex happens outside of marriage, that children are born to unwed parents. This wasn't God's design either. The reason sex is for married people is to seal their unity, it is an intimacy that the two of the share with each other, and it is the thing that makes them one flesh. It is from this unity that children come from, and they are born to a mother and a father. They are born to a family unit that has both halves of the image of God together. This is why God gave sex to married couples, to create life, to be uniquely united together, and to delight in each other.
Anything outside of this violates God intentions. An extra marital affair breaks that unity of one flesh. Pre-marital fornication does the same thing. Both of these don't show God because it shows a limited unity, it is intimacy with no commitment. It is simply a search for pleasure. A homosexual relationship takes two of the same halves of God's image, and is unable to do what God created marriage to do. All of these violate God's design of marriage.
I'm not sure how to bring all of this back to the initial point of the Church as the Bride of Christ. This post has gone places I didn't expect it to go. God created us for intimate relationships with Him and each other, but the purpose of intimacy is to show the relationship that God desires with each of us. As a husband and wife marriage involves, love, commitment, honoring and cherishing, along with delight in each other, so God desires that with us. Love, commitment, honor, cherish, delight, these are His creations and part of the relationship He wants with each of us.
"I have been young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."
To God alone be the Glory!
Peace be with you
No comments:
Post a Comment