Marriage
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. – Revelation 19:6-8
Friends,
I’ve been thinking about marriage recently. Actually, I should say ‘marriages’.
My parents celebrated their 60th anniversary on June 7. My older daughter and her husband celebrated their 12th anniversary on June 10. Nancy (my wife) and I celebrated our 38th anniversary on June 14th. In addition, my younger daughter is getting married in October.
In the bible, the relationship with God and the people of God is compared to marriage.
God is the groom and God’s people are the bride.
Here’s the irony about this comparison – it’s often pictured as a struggling marriage.
God often compares the people as ‘unfaithful’ and going after ‘other gods’.
That says quite a bit about marriage.
In his book, “As For Me And My House”, Walt Wangerin, Jr. talks of a process which occurs in most marriages. It is the process of idealization versus realization. Basically, we walk into our marriages with an ideal of what the marriage will be. It does not take long before reality hits.
Reality might be something as benign as squeezing the toothpaste from the middle versus the bottom to somethings more toxic and damaging to the marriage often resulting in the end of the marriage.
I do not know of any marriage that has not been hit by ‘reality’. Usually there are numerous realities throughout marriage.
My parents have been married 60 years because they have had to face these realities and have done so quite well.
In the bible, God faces the ‘realities’ of marriage through grace. God’s grace always overcomes the ‘reality’ of his relationship with the people of God.
May the grace of God be at the center of your marriage.
Peace,
Ricky Adams
Pastor
Peace Lutheran Church
Mill Valley