Jump Start # 1362

Ephesians 5:23 “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church. He Himself being the Savior of the body.

  Our passage today comes from that powerful Ephesian section about marriage. The roles of the husband and wife are identified and the role models that they should follow, Christ and the church, are paralleled as well. This section however, is really not about marriage. It is about the church. The relationship between Christ and the church is what this section is about. The husband and wife reference is used to illustrate Christ and the church. We often get this reversed and backward.

There are two powerful thoughts that we find between Christ and the church.

First, Christ always loved and was good to the church. He gave. He saved. He sacrificed. He blessed. He showed. There is nothing that God asks of us that Jesus did not do Himself. He worshipped. We are too. He prayed. We are to do that. He followed Scripture. We do that. He was a servant. We are to be that way. He put others before Himself. We need to do that. The man who is serious about his marriage will look to Jesus.  He won’t find the apostles tripping over each other, bringing ice tea to Jesus. What he will see, is Jesus washing the feet of the apostles, including Judas’. The husband, looking at Jesus, realizes that he is to serve. He is to bless his wife. He is to make her feel loved, wanted and appreciated. Christ was good for the church. The husband is to be good to his wife.

Second, the church honors Christ. Any church today that forgets Christ, has no purpose or reason to stay in business. The business of the church is Christ. They are to worship, honor, serve, follow and praise the Lord. This has a way of getting fuzzy with some. We can put more emphasis upon us that we do Him. We can complain, get bored, and fuss about how we feel, while forgetting how He feels. Worship is a gift that comes from the heart. The church can never do enough for all that Christ has done for us. What an example for the woman who truly wants to do as God expects in her marriage. She, like the church, is to give, share, honor and love her husband.

It’s easy to point the finger to the other person in the marriage and declare that he’s not doing his part. We can decide to just stop being nice until they get on the ball more. Selfishness, neglect and busyness can hurt a marriage. The best relationships do not just happen. The more time, work and energy that is poured in the relationship, the better it will soar. This is true of our relationship with the Lord and our relationship at home.

There are three things that God expects from every marriage.

First, God expects all people in the marriage to be faithful to each other. Faithful, in body, mind and emotion. Some may never have an affair with the body, but the flirting that they do at work and the facebook conversations would certainly make one wonder about all that. Jesus tells us that fornications come from the heart and defile a person. Long before the clothes come off, there are thoughts, words and actions that were going the wrong direction. Faithful—in all ways. This is part of our “I Do’s” that we promise to one another and that God hears. This point alone kills pornography. Filling the mind with dirt from the gutter will only poison the marriage and ruin anything that is good and right.

Second, God expects all people in marriage to stay in the marriage until death. This is a life long commitment. This isn’t a seasonal thing. This is an arrangement until a newer model comes out. There is no trading up when it comes to marriage. God designed it. He invited man to it. Beginning a marriage with a “pre-nup” agreement is a disaster waiting to happen. There is no “pre-nup”. We are staying with this until the very end.

Third, God expects all people in the marriage to honor Him. Marriage is about honoring God not finding myself, being happy, or making someone else happy. The purpose is to bring honor to God. In doing this, one will find the greatest joy and happiness in a marriage. Honor God by worshipping together. Honor God by serving others together. Honor God by bringing children up in the Lord. Honor God by following Him, including Him in your daily life and loving Him.

Across this land there are too many church buildings filled with women and children while the men are at home in bed or off hunting. He has no time, interest nor concern in the things above. It’s up to the wife to introduce God in the hearts of the little children. Dad can’t be counted on for that. He’ll teach them how to burp, throw a ball, catch a fish but nothing about God. This will cripple the family later on. This is much more than “going to church.” When that daughter wants to date, what clothing she wears, who she hangs out with—those are times that dad and God must take a stand on the same page and shine. It’s time for dad to lead. But those who have ignored God will find themselves on the wrong side of those issues. Mom will stand alone. Mom and dad will not be on the same page. It will hurt their relationship and it will affect the children.

Sometimes we must slow down a bit and see how we are treating the other one in the marriage. We can be so busy that we have just taken things for granted. Marriage can be one of the greatest helps in our spiritual journey. Someone to pray with, talk to, study the Bible with, go to worship with and journey through life on the same page is an enormous blessing. Dads and moms need to teach very early the value of dating and marrying someone who walks with the Lord. Forgiveness, love and that godly example that Ephesians gives us, takes on a special meaning when everyone is a Christian.

May God help us in our marriage.

Roger