“Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready.” Revelation 19:7
My husband isn’t perfect, and I’m okay with that because if he were, I might look to him more than I look to God. As well, I’m far from perfection, too, which helps him to rely more on God to meet his needs than me.
Together, our imperfectness is just the right environment for God to work through us to lean on Him more than each other. It’s the perfect setting for putting Proverbs 3:5 into practice: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
So, like many couples, we’ve experienced disappointment with each other and in marriage. Although we love each other, we don’t always act or respond in the most loving ways.
As other couples have discovered, marriage isn’t exactly what we were expecting it to be. All the hype about marriage making us happily ever after just isn’t true. We learned pretty early on as a married couple that we couldn’t fully satisfy each other’s hearts.
Whether married or single, our heart's satisfaction can only come through our relationship with God. Psalm 145:16 describes how “You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”
Unlike the popular relationship saying, “You complete me,” we don’t complete each other because only God is able to do that, and He didn’t intend for our marriage partners to take His place in our lives. Yet, so many individuals look for their marriage partner to meet all their needs and make them whole.
God’s marriage plan is so much more practical than the hyped-up romantic, self-indulgent marriages occurring today. He didn’t design us to be someone’s end-all because that’s what He wants to be.
Rather, our spouse is someone to share this life with by creating a family and allowing God to work through each of us to make us more like Him. It’s a proving ground for what is to come, as our mate is not meant to replace our relationship with God in our lives but to help prepare us for our eternal future.
God didn’t fashion Eve to take His place in Adam’s life but to be a helpmate. Genesis 2:18 explains, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
That doesn’t take away from the rapid heartbeat and love-at-first-sight feelings we may experience when first meeting, or throughout our marriages, in seeing our spouse, because God includes some of that in the marriage plan, too.
Like Adam’s joy expressed at first laying eyes on Eve, “The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called "woman," for she was taken out of man'” (Genesis 2:23).
Tragically, marriage today has taken on all kinds of distorted forms, most of which are leading people away from God rather than toward Him, trying to thwart His purpose and plan for this holy union.
Many have lessened the sacredness of marriage, making it about a selfish pursuit to find the perfect-looking mate, looking to satisfy lustful and selfish physical desires. Others are set on creating a financial power couple in order to gain worldwide influence. Sadly, it’s not just a worldly distortion taking place: it’s happening within the Church, too.
Although the world is clueless when it comes to God’s purpose for marriage, the Church holds the answer because God has provided Jesus as the perfect Bridegroom.
As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Marriage on earth is a witness and a picture to the world of what’s to come, of the Church, His Bride, being presented to and united as one with Jesus. And when united with Him, our imperfectness will be made perfect in Him, as Hebrews 10:14 describes, “For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Although the concept of the Church’s marriage to Jesus may be difficult for some to understand, it’s why earthly marriages are only temporary and don’t continue in heaven, as some may believe. Matthew 22:30 explains how, at the resurrection, people will be like angels in that they will not be married to each other.
And even though earthly marriages are imperfect, our heavenly marriage will be perfect. Ephesians 5:31-32 explains further, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
Help us in our marital relationships to prepare for the coming marriage with the Lamb of God, Jesus. Work through us to help each other be cleansed, made holy, and ready for the Bridegroom.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Sam Edwards
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington, Andrea Bocelli, Reba McEntire, Mark Wahlberg, Tony Dungy, and Matthew McConaughey—what do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their stories of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.