I’ve given a lot of thought to marriage recently. I’ve come across lots of good stuff regarding this covenant we call marriage. Challenge means growing.
So for this post: think and act on what you seek to get out of marriage. Married or not, that question can greatly affect both your approach and your outcome.
Should we want anything at all?
This does NOT mean we void ourselves of wants or interests. But the challenge comes straight from Scripture, which commands husbands and wives to love each other as a reflection of how Christ loves us.
Christ lived, 100%, to benefit others. Could we, as spouses, if required, live only for the service of our spouse, kids, and others? Could our core relationships give us complete satisfaction if we had to assume a position of complete servanthood?
Examples
Seasonally, I have seen people do it. Husbands generously caring for their wives post surgery, or a husband caring for his wife over many years after she was struck with dementia. For these seasons, these spouses exhibited a love that almost literally got them nothing in return. Over the weeks, months, or years, spouses in these situations do nothing but manage the care of a person, a home, and perhaps a household.
Christ
Christ displayed love on earth that got him nothing but betrayed, deserted, and murdered. We glorify Him for the love He showed in paying the price that we as sinners deserved. His love showed a powerful, one-way, sacrifice that completely covered the sin of all who would turn to Him.
The Challenge
No marriage, in a normative sense, is designed to exist in a one way love situation. Marriage’s design includes both the giving and receiving of love. But, could we grow our marriages and increase our love for Christ by taking an approach that suppresses our desire to get, and instead places as primary our desires to grow?
Think. Do you posses the capability of this type of love? I ask in light of the challenge prodding me.
Act. How can you increase your desire to serve your spouse and family while squelching the desire to receive?