Wednesday 18 July 2007

Marriage

My younger brother got married a few weeks ago. It was a wonderful day; as perfect as these days can get.

It was a reminder of the great blessings of God bestowed upon us; the blessings of companionship, complementarity and commitment between a man and a woman; the blessings that the two combined (as God's image) impart into the world through wise stewardship of creation, hospitality and concern for neighbour and loving parenthood.
It was also a reminder of the blessing of God bestowed upon fallen humanity in the reconciling work of Jesus. For as a man commits to a woman in love giving sacrificially of himself, so Jesus Christ has committed himself to his people in love by giving his life as a sacrifice for our sin. As a woman responds to a man in love, so we as Jesus people respond to him in love.

We eagerly await the final consummation of Jesus love affair with his people, when the saints from every time and every place are joined with their Lord in perfect union forever.
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5 comments:

Jill said...

As a non-married person it's sometimes tempting to be self-pitying about not participating in this living example of Christ's love for the church. But I have been greatly encouraged by some thoughts from John Piper...

Piper says,
The objective truths about marriage are primarily God’s design:
1. To display his covenant keeping love between Christ and the church,
2 To sanctify the couple with the peculiar pains and pleasures of marriage,
3. To beget and rear a generation of white-hot worshippers, and
4. And to channel good sexual desire into holy paths and transpose it into worshipful foretastes of heaven’s pleasures.
That is a high calling, but it is only compelling if it meets with internal longings for God that lean strongly into these designs.

The objective truths about singleness are also primarily God’s design:
1. To display the spiritual nature of God’s family that grows from regeneration and faith, not procreation and sex,
2. To sanctify the single with the peculiar pains and pleasures of singleness,
3. To capture more of the single’s life for non-domestic ministry that is so desperately needed in the world,
4. And to magnify the all-satisfying worth of Christ that sustains life-long chastity.
That is a high calling, but it is only compelling if it meets with internal longings for God that lean strongly into these designs.


And after all, on that final day we will all be part of that perfect union with Jesus forever.

18 July 2007 at 7:50 pm
Philip Britton said...

I agree that JP offers a balance in this area that is helpful.

That the blessing of marriage is primarily a symbol of the greater blessing of Christ and his church needs to be remembered always by married persons.

19 July 2007 at 9:55 am
Jill said...

I think that this needs to be recognised by single people too. We should acknowledge and respect that marriage is a special symbol and support our married friends in that regard.

19 July 2007 at 6:00 pm
Simon (aka: 'Jacko') said...

Encouraging thoughts Phil - it is a great symbol of the relationship we have with the Lord.

Your thoughts are remarkably like what I was keen to express at Kate and John's wedding back in December '06 - such great news, pity that wolves got in the way.

Keep laying down your life for that great wife of yours!

Jacko

20 July 2007 at 2:55 pm
AndrewE said...

And did Phil mention his sermon was great?

Thanks mate.

ae

24 July 2007 at 3:26 pm

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