Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
For those of us who are married or may be married one day, the Biblical teaching about that blessed union must be heeded. Ephesians 5:21-33 is a most helpful passage. Mutual submission (verse 21) is one key, for it means thinking about each other and being ready to put the other first. “Love” (verse 25; also Titus 2:4)) is necessary and must be cultivated. In fact, we are to cherish each other (verse 29), for we guard carefully what we cherish. Respect (verse 33) is also central to a good marriage. Even with these clear instructions – all of with which we can readily agree – marriage remains challenging. Since this relationship involves the only two genders, there will certainly be an adjustment period as we learn about inherent biological and chemical differences. We also have personality differences (even identical twins do) and different upbringings. These and other distinctions can make marriage difficult. We need to put work into this relationship. As a practical matter, if your spouse is not your closest friend, you need to make immediate changes to actively develop a Biblical relationship of submission, love, cherishing, and respect. Married couples need to seek to spend more time together, for our other responsibilities keep us apart for long enough periods of time. Rather than plan to be apart, we need to plan to be together. Let us see Biblical instruction on marriage for what it is – not confinement but blessing.