Daily devotion – marriage for Christians
Ephesians 5: 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
As a young married couple, we had the blessing of having Thom Whitaker as our pastor. Thom was one of the godliest men who I have ever met. He is now with our Lord having served Him faithfully for many years. Thom was a gentle and loving godly man who I have seen calm when facing hostile situations. I learnt so much from him.
But Thom also was fierce when he needed to be in the things of the Lord. In one Bible study Helen and I were both attending one night, with Thom teaching, a lady began to share some things publicly about someone and Thom sprung forth in a very firm and loud voice and said, “Stop, that is gossip!” It was a time we shall never forget!
I asked Thom as a young pastor what he considered to be the key points of any pre-marriage counselling to Christian couples. I still use his advice today.
But I remember him telling me of one time he was counselling a couple who were preparing to marry and Thom said he shared with this couple that he felt they were not suited together for wedlock.
His advice on this matter was not based on their not loving one another or that one was not a Christian. But Thom shared that one of the intending couple had a zeal to serve the Lord and desired to serve Christ with complete abandonment of anything else in this world.
Whilst the other person, yes was a Christian, but had a very shallow walk with Christ. During their sessions together that person never reiterated with the other that they too wanted to serve Christ with equal passion.
Thom simply said, they should carefully reconsider their proposed wedding, as they were poles apart in their relationship and zeal for God.
From that time I have seen many young men and women enter marriage, both believers, but really not ‘equally yoked’ in their desire for Christ or to serve Him. Thus their marriage was crippled and in danger right from the start, even though they both confessed to be believers.
Marriage is the ultimate image of Christ’s love for the Church and also portrays how the Church should be in complete submission to serve Christ with all their hearts.
Any Christian couples intending to wed should discuss well before making any resolutions, that their passion, love and desire to serve Christ is of the same level in both.
Just because both parties are Christian, this does not automatically equate that the couple are compatible to take the most serious step of wedlock.