I have moved from that girl to that girl almost overnight. Meaning...where I once was skeptical, cynical, and a doubter of love, I am now fully convinced that it is possible, beautiful and every bit as good as I hoped it could be (if not better). I'm the kind of person that might make other people want to gag. Oh well.
In the process of the giggling, sharing and a general excitement about how good life can be, one of my friends looked at me with tears in her eyes and reminded me of the great responsibility that comes with such a blessing. That with marriage comes a clear picture of the Gospel...and in marriage, we carry the weight of sharing that picture with the world.
It's a picture of unconditional love.
Of grace.
Of sacrifice and selflessness. Of humility.
It's a picture of forgiveness. A picture of not holding past grievances against the other. A picture of faithfulness in the face of unfaithfulness. A picture of love.
It's a picture of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes I think we forget it. How easy it is to be consumed with ourselves, our happiness, what we "need", and what we aren't getting. How easy it is to stack up all the wrongs someone has committed and throw them in their face the moment it becomes convenient or helps us 'win' the argument. How easy it is to see all we have done and wonder when they are going to pick up their end of the slack. How easy it is to whine, to complain, to remind them of all the things they said they were going to do but haven't gotten around to yet.
How easy it is for an earthly relationship that's intended to paint a beautiful portrayal of who Christ is to suddenly turn into something filled with despair, loneliness, brokenness, and selfishness.
It's a great weight, indeed.
Don't worry friends, I'm not getting married anytime soon...but as people even think about the possibility of getting married, I want us to be a people who don't forget the weighty responsibility of it that my friend reminded me of. That marriage isn't about us. What it points to is significantly greater than our own wants, our own needs, our own dreams.
And without Christ at the center of these relationships, it becomes impossible to move forward into them in a way that truly depicts Him. We're unable to love each other as fully, unable to move past ourselves, unable to see the broader scope of eternity as we get sucked into the discomforts of everyday living/trials.
I know nothing is perfect here, but I have high hopes that there is beauty in the broken. That there are reflections of Christ in even the most imperfect things. That as we seek to love Him, to know Him, to follow Him more wholly...that there will be shadows of how it was intended to be here on this earth. Things that we get to partake in, even if they are only moments, glimpses, pieces...
May they always point back to Him.
May our relationships be reflections of the greatest love of all... and may we rely heavily on Him as we attempt, with our own imperfections, to love another imperfect person. Through His grace, His love, His kindness...may we learn the fullness of what it means to choose someone else, to love them, to walk with them through all things.
May we never give up...may we never give in.
Instead, may we live to the fullest....sucking every joy out of this life, and painting a picture of Christ to everyone within reach that's undeniably filled His love and grace.
A weighty responsibility.
One to not take lightly, but one I pray that we are willing to seize if ever given the chance.
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The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller is a great book on this topic!
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