Nowadays, many see marriage shortsightedly or even wrongly. Some people in the church see marriage as the solution to burning passion. Some see marriage as a means to be promoted to greater ministry. Some see marriage as the solution to their being alone. While marriage does help in these, it is meant for so much more!
Marriage Shows Us God's Love
More than anything, marriage is meant to show us how much God loves us. While some might think God made Eve simply because it wasn't good for Adam to be alone, or perhaps because a man is having a hard time controlling his passions, marriage wasn't created for man's loneliness and cravings alone. No. Marriage was created for us to see how much God loves us.
God's Heart
Friends, when we look at the creation account in Genesis, we read that God made man and woman and commanded them to go and multiply. They were tasked with taking dominion over all of creation together as partners. In Genesis 2:18, however, we find that there's something far deeper than just the task and the purpose given them for their union:
"Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him.'"
We find in the whole passage of Genesis 2:15-20 that God was looking for a helper for Adam. In verse 18, we read of His heart expressing His desire for the man never to be alone in life and in work. That's why He made Eve to be Adam's companion, a partner suitable for him.
Such is the heart of our Father God. He never wants us basking in the sadness of loneliness. He never wants us brooding over the anguish of being alone when we are burdened with tasks great and small, as if no one will be there for us. This is why He promised to never leave us nor forsake us. That's why He promised to be all that we will need.
So Why Marriage?
If the story of God creating Eve didn't nail the heart of God in our heads, then the story of the perfect Husband coming for His bride will. In Ephesians 5:21-33 we find the passage that instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and instructs the wives to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ.
One portion we often neglect there, though, is verses 31-32, which says:
"'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh.' This is a great mystery, but I am speaking about Christ and the church."
We read there that in marriage, a man leaves his parents and joins his wife. Then we also read that the passage talks about Christ and the church. Here's what I want to say:
Christ Jesus had to leave the comforts of His heavenly home beside the Father so that He could join us filthy humans and become like one of us, so that in doing this He could show us God's love and save us from sin and death, and ransom us to be His own bride! Wow!
Christ's Love Seen Through Our Marriage
Friends, the more we see our spouses becoming harder to love, let's be reminded of how hard it must have been for Christ to pursue us! On the other hand, the more we see our spouses love us despite our imperfections, realise how much Christ loved us that while we were still sinners, He died for us.
And when we see our spouses do their best for our good and lift us up, realise how much Christ loved us that He raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him in the heavenly places.
God uses our marriages to show us how much He loved us. Christ, the Groom, is our perfect Lover.
