Staying Married is Not about Staying in Love

What do you tell someone who is getting married? Good luck, best of luck, better luck next time... Marriage is a mystery, thats for sure. Lately I've been thinking about marriage mostly because I'm getting married.

Sitting at a wedding a few months before your own big day is quite an experience. If you manage not to pass out, you may learn a few things. After listening to John Piper, all I could think was Christ and the Church, Christ and the church, Christ and the church...and then nearly passed out.

The symbolism is truly remarkable. The bride or church is put on this pedestal and dressed in pure white and praised and honored as the highlight of the day. Anyone who helped in planning the wedding, is probably thinking that woman is crazy...she doesn't deserve this (aka bridezilla)!! The groom also realizing this woman is crazy gladly accepts her and takes her as his own.

The idea of marriage being about Christ and the Church is sinking in the more and more I think about it. Wyatt and I each had to write a word which sums up marriage for a workbook we are doing...I wrote selflessness and he wrote sanctification. Loving someone else is all about doing stuff for them they don't deserve because lets face it we've all got issues and when you get married you now have multiplied your issues by two.

I don't think I've heard anything explaining marriage nearly as poignant as the series John Piper is currently doing on marriage called Staying in Married is Not about Staying in Love (Listen now!). Frankly, its the opposite of what the majority of people will tell you marriage is. Marriage is all about love isn't it, its about marrying your best friend right?

He starts with the assumption that "our own sin and selfishness and cultural bondage makes it almost impossible to feel the wonder of God’s purpose for marriage between a man and a woman." He hopes to "set you free from small, worldly, culturally contaminated, self-centered, Christ-ignoring, God-neglecting, romance-intoxicated, unbiblical views of marriage." I definitely needed that! You will not regret listening to this podcast : )

He even unveils the mystery of marriage near the end of it, which I don't want to spoil, but will hopefully encourage you to listen. Listen to the whole series if you get a chance and let me know what you think!

Thought for the day: And I have to speculate that God himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle pieces from the clay ~Iron and Wine