The primary, most important calling of all Christians is to love
God and love one’s neighbor (Matt. 22:34-40). Love for one’s neighbor is
the physical manifestation of your love for God. Since God does not
live among us in a corporeal form or otherwise engage us in a physical
manner, it is easy to profess love for God. Yet your relationship with
God is reflected by your interaction with your fellow person. As the
image bearers of God, the way we interact with others who are also made
in God’s image reveals how fully conformed to the likeness of God we are
becoming. “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a
liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they
have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen” (1 John 4:20).
Without a doubt, your spouse is your closest, most intimate
neighbor. Regardless of whether a person is initially compelled to
marriage for carnal reasons (the desire for sex is, at least in part, a
legitimate reason to want to get married (1 Cor. 7:8-9)), spiritual
reasons, or some combination of the two, the call of marriage is to love
God as evidenced by love for his or her spouse. Although the pursuit of
love for God is the primary goal, it is inseparable from the pursuit of
loving your mate.
Within the context of marriage, we must understand the concept of
“one flesh” as more than a platitude or a reference only to the sexual
nature of humanity. We must see one flesh as the communal calling of
marriage in light of God’s call to love him and love your neighbor.
Marriage is an entirely unique participation in the divine mystery of a
holistic oneness between man, woman, and God that reflects Christ’s
relationship with the church (Eph. 5:21-33). In marriage, couples find a
joint purpose in God that transcends the couple’s sharing of a home and
a bed. Marriage becomes the vessel in which couples grow in holiness
together through their shared life in Christ. It is the purposeful
reorientation of life toward discipleship as it is specifically
expressed in your relationship with your mate. It is a visible, outward
manifestation of covenant living, serving, commitment, intimacy, grace,
forgiveness, and love. It is the means by which a husband and wife truly
become “salt and light” to the world around them.
Often, it is the person who we should (and do) love the most, our
closet neighbor in every possible way, that we take for granted the
most. It's shocking how easy it is to be rude or insensitive to one's
mate; how carelessly one speaks or acts toward his/her lover.
Continually remind yourself that you are each other's closest neighbor,
and the world will see what you really think of God by how you treat
each other.
UPCOMING MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT RETREAT WEEKEND: Labor Day weekend, Friday, August 31-Sunday, September 2, 2012 at Fall Creek Falls State Park in middle Tennessee. More info will be posted later.
Welcome to the blogosphere. I will Tweet this so more people I know can find it.
ReplyDelete