I mentioned in a blog post a couple of weeks ago that I am teaching a marriage class on Sunday mornings at 9:20 called The Art of Marriage. This past Sunday, we had a great discussion about what marriage is and what it isn’t. If you were to approach one hundred different people on the street and ask them why people get married, you would get a wide range of answers. Some would say to make yourself happy, to make your spouse happy, to have a life partner, or maybe even for money! All those things are great (except maybe for the last one), but in class, we were challenged to look at the purpose of marriage as none of those things. Instead we were challenged to see marriage’s ultimate purpose as reflecting God’s image. That’s a bit of departure from the way many, even many in the church, think.

We in the church might realize that marriage is not just something to suit our needs, but that it is a way to glorify God, but it’s often easy to forget that, especially when life gets hectic. It’s so easy to become discontented with our spouse when we focus on what we are getting out of it, or what our spouse is or isn’t doing that she should or shouldn’t be doing. Keeping reflecting God’s image in mind is just as important, perhaps more so, in the presence of others. I know that I sometimes forget in interactions with non-Christian people and couples that, like it or not, I’m an ambassador for Christ, and if my manner and attitude don’t reflect God’s love, I’m hurting rather than helping the public opinion of Christianity. One of the easiest ways to witness to others through your marriage is how you treat your spouse, either as a husband or as a wife. Of course, this cannot be just a “show” that is put on when in the presence of others. It has to be a choice to treat your spouse with the love and respect they deserve simply because they are a creation of God as well as God’s gift to you.

I challenge you to be more aware of not only your witness as a couple, but also in how you think about your marriage. What bigger purpose is your marriage serving? Are you using your marriage to serve and glorify God? And if not, why not? I hope you will reflect on this and I pray that God continues to work in and bless your marriage.

To learn more, join us on Sunday mornings at 9:20am in Room 105 for The Art of Marriage or connect through Boundaries in Marriage on Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm here at SPL.

In Christ,

Jarvis