TheoThoughts

Despite being married before, I have never experienced a healthy, godly, mutually loving partnership with Christ at the center. Widowed since 2004, my entrance into Dallas and seminary in 2008 was met with an intense desire for join forces with one whom shared the same gospel-centered passions and understood what it meant to love another person.

Now for those who don’t know the full extent of my personal history, there can only be shallow presuppositions concerning this desire.  To be sure, there are personal reasons namely to experience human love. In a way, it is a restoration of sorts.

But most importantly, when I consider Ephesians 5:22-33, I see marriage as a reflection of Christ and his church. A good, strong partnership in the Lord is meant to point to Christ and demonstrate the gospel in action. I can’t help but see this as a marvelously, beautiful thing.

I came across this post today What is Unique about Marriage that Makes it a Forum Ministry. I think Paul Tripp really summed up my thoughts on the subject well;

When you think of the marriage between a man and a woman who are believers as being a forum for great commission ministry there are a couple things that come to mind. If you have these two sinners who by nature are self sovereigns who have little interest in doing anything in life, but building their own kingdom…And if they’re now living in a relationship of real unity, real love, willing self sacrifice, you’re seeing the Kingdom come. It has come in this marriage. There are few places where you can better invite people in to see the King at work and see how His Kingdom operates more than a marriage, because typically you don’t have unity, understanding and love.

It’s why I wrote here why I do not want a “good” man but a gospel centered man who is not concerned with building up his own kingdom. Sure there are the realities of two imperfect people co-existing and sorting through differences. But a kingdom focus points to a greater reality.

Still praying. Lord willing