As we continue to grapple with the defilement and desecration of the Sacred Institution of Marriage in this country, we need to make sure that we understand truly what Marriage is. There is an oversight taking place in regards to Marriage that even many Christians are missing. Marriage is more than just an institution, it's more than just a social arrangement, it's more than just the foundation of the family; Marriage is a Ministry. The reason why this is important to keep in mind even as a believer in Christ is because no one, all things considered, gets into Ministry with the idea of serving themselves. There are, of course, many people who use the Ministry for self-gain and self-serving purposes; but even with that, it's understood that in order to "profit" from ministry, you have to effectively "serve" people. This is where a major part of the breakdown of marriage is taking place in our society. Deep down, and this includes many Christians, people are convinced that Marriage has been designed to make them happy. Wrong. That's why American society at-large can condone the perversion of marriage with the legalization of same-sex marriage, because by and large people think that everybody should "have a right" to do what makes them happy. But the mistake in understanding is that marriage wasn't designed to make man happy, it was designed to Glorify God. And what will help reinforce this original intent and purpose of marriage is to develop a better understanding of The Ministry of Marriage.
Let's first establish that being a husband or wife is more than simply "marital roles", they are actually spiritual offices. Just like people serve in the "office" of a pastor, just like people serve in the "office" of a prophet, just like people serve in the "office" of a deacon; when you get married you serve in either the "office" of a husband or the "office" of a wife (Ephesians 5). This is important to understand because all of the aforementioned offices are, once again, Ministries. Anybody serving in the office of pastor, or a prophet or a deacon, understands instinctively that their calling and their job is to Serve, period. Such is the case with the office of the husband and wife. God has ordained these two offices in the Ministry of the Family to, first, serve one another and then to serve their children and then the greater community at large. Once this fundamental understanding is reestablished in regards to The Ministry of Marriage, maybe the crippling effect of self-centeredness and individualism won't infect the spirit that people bring into their marriages, which ultimately ends up destroying their marriage. We must adopt the posture that is required in the office of a husband or wife in order to fulfill The Ministry of Marriage.
Lastly, there's one "primary" responsibility that each office holds in the fulfillment of The Ministry of Marriage. It's not the "only" responsibility, but it's the Primary responsibility if the marriage is going to be functional and fulfill the purpose for which God has ordained. The Husband has to serve and the Wife has to submit (Ephesians 5). Let's start with the Husband. The misconception that has been adopted within our cultural conditioning is that the Husband is supposed to "be in charge". And of course we back this assumption up with the scripture that says that the husband is the head of the wife (Ephesians 5). But where people miss it, including a lot of Christian men, is that yes, the Husband is the head, but he's supposed to lead his wife by serving her the way Christ serves the church (Ephesians 5). The way Christ served the church is by loving her to death (literally). Husbands and those men who plan to get married, are you loving your wife "to death"? Supporting her, serving her, protecting her, covering her, sacrificing for her, putting her needs above your own, absorbing her pain, feeling her hurts. This is what it means for the office of the husband to love the wife as Christ loved the church. And then wives, your primary responsibility is to submit to your husband. This doesn't mean that you have to obey your husband like a dog does its master. It means that you take the time to find out who and where your husband is emotionally, spiritually, physically and relationally, and then you posture yourself to yield to that so that you can appropriately follow your husband and submit to his leadership for your family. This is not easy because it requires that the wife "get out of herself". But is this not what Christ is calling the church to do, to deny ourselves? (Matthew 16). Saints, there's much work to do. But I can assure you, many of the challenges that this country is facing right now will not be resolved until there's a Restoration of God's Divine Order for the Family. We can contribute to that Restoration process if we adopt and embrace The Ministry of Marriage.
No comments:
Post a Comment