July 2007 Devotional 

I really struggled this time trying to find something
relevant to write about when a friend came to me with
a problem concerning her marriage. Within a few days
someone else came to me and confided in me that they
too were having trouble. The problems were ranging
from financial differences to depression. And, in
listening to them and looking at my own marriage I
really felt compelled to write this devotional on the
subject. 


What suprised me the most was that these issues were
not causing a crink in the marriage, these problems
were actually causing the 'brink' of divorce for the
marriages. And, these were Christian couples!
Christian couples that you see at church every Sunday
and who appear to be ever so happy and full of love.
But, these people were/are secretly hurting and very
much in need of guidance and support. After talking
this over with a good friend of mine, he made a good
point when he said 'you know, when our grandparents
were our age divorce was not a common issue. Though
times were not always good, the mind set was
different. When they vowed to love each other through
good times and bad, they meant it'. Not to imply that
people don't mean what they say when they say their
vows, but that when things get bad our society is
fully accepting of divorce for a solution. And,
divorce is made relatively simple these days. In alot
of cases, it is easier to get divorced than it is to
work it out. 


So, these questions and these thoughts made me turn to
the Bible to look for God's answers about marriage.
These are some of the answers I found: 


In Genesis 2:23-25 Adam describes marriage in this way
"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of
man. For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife, and they will become
one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and
they felt no shame". 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says "The
husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,
and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body
does not belong to her alone but also to her husband.
In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to
him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each
other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that
you may devote yourselves to prayer". These passages
both express the 'closeness' of a husband and a wife
and the roles they are to play.  Also, Ephesians
5:22-33 states the following: "Wives, submit to your
husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head
of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his
body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church
submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to
their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by
the washing with water throught the word, and to
present her to himself as a radiant church, without
stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and
blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love
their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife
loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own
body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ
does the church-- for we are members of his body. For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and
be united to his wife, and the two will become one
flesh. This is a profound mystery- but I am talking
about Christ and the church. However, each one of you
also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the
wife must respect her husband. 


Reading these verses really made me think. My husband
drives me nuts at times. We are very different people
and it's hard for us to always agree. We certaintly do
not have what some would call a 'perfect marriage'.
But, we love each other and he is my husband and I am
his wife. And, after reading these verses it really
brought to light that God's intention and desire for
'marriage' is an undying commitment to each other and
a closeness and devotion that can only be compared to
that between Jesus and the church. That is not
something to be taken lightly but something to
cherish.