What? You may ask, what is Sacred Marriage, and what the heck happened to Chapter 1? Well, let me tell you...
I decided to join an online Bible study where we would all ready Sacred Marriage together, and then chat about it, blog about it, etc. However, I'm late to the game, so I'm starting with Chapter 2. And I might add, I'm late posting this, but better late than never I suppose! Overall, I really like this idea of an online Bible study -- it keeps me accountable but there is a little less pressure of meeting deadlines when I'm busy with work, etc.
So, onto the meat of my post, chapter 2! Chapter two was all about how being married has lots of analogies about our relationship with God. This chapter references 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" In fact, every day that I wake up, I know that I am less than perfect and am probably going to mess up in some way, shape, or form. But becasue of God's mercy, the old is forgotton and my spirit is new, forgiven each day, each hour, each minute. God has forgiven me, and he calls me to show that same mercy and forgiveness to my husband. It sounds so easy, right?
My favorite part of the chapter was a great analogy about our marriages and forests. Forests can grow for hundreds of years -- but if they are not continually watered with the rain, one lightning strike can destroy the forest. However, if the forest is watered continuously, lightning may still strike the forest, but it will not have as devastating an effect. Our marriages are like forests in that they also need water ("an unwavering commitment to please God") to survive against lightning strikes (communication problems, unrealized expectations, etc). The author writes, "If I'm married only for happiness, and my happiness wanes for whatever reason, one little spark will burn the entire forest of my relationship."
That analogy really struck with me, because so much I often think of marriage as 'how can my husband make me happy today'. It's an unfortunate selfish view, but one that is easy to fall into a trap when we are surrounded by things that make us happy instantly, like on demand games, tv, quick dinners, etc. If I look at marriage as a way to please God, and to really embrace God's love and share that with Rob, then marriage takes on a whole new look. Or at least it should. Of course, putting this into practice is challenging, but I'm not one to back down from a challenge.
Ok, that's all for this chapter. Hope you all have a blessed week!
Footnotes:
