Four Things Marriage Has Taught Me About My Relationship With Christ

Hello, All!
Today's post is one that I've actually been considering for some time, but haven't been able to get my thoughts collected clearly enough to write a blog post about it. (Not that this is going to be miraculously coherent now that I'm actually writing it, mind you--I'm not sure I'm capable of such a thing. ;) Still, I shall do my best. 

As most of you are aware, Luke and I have been married for just over a year now, and I can honestly say that I am incredibly blessed to have him for my husband, life partner, and best friend. Marriage has been so different in many ways than I imagined it...different as in FAR better than I ever thought! I'm not saying we've had a perfect marriage with zero problems or difficulties, but I can say that these have been few and far between; mostly because he is so good about patiently dealing with issues when they come along, and putting up with me and my flaws incredibly well. ;)

Over this very new season of life, God has used marriage to teach me some valuable lessons that I believe can apply to anyone, married or not. I hope that these things will be a blessing to those who read it, no matter what stage of life you are currently in! :) Without further ado, here are four things God has been teaching me through our marriage thus far.

1. The importance of serving God with the right motives.
One thing that has struck me lately is the fact that motives do matter. If you are doing the right thing for the wrong reasons or with the wrong attitude, then how much good are you really doing? In 1 Corinthians 13, it talks about all the "good works" that you can do that become nothing without the motive being that of charity. 

Applying this with marriage...I have realized clearly that when I serve my husband out of the deep love and respect that I hold for him both as a man, and as the man in specific that God has placed in my life to lead and protect me, it is so much more fulfilling and full of joy! Tasks can become a blessing and a pleasure, whereas if I'm performing them merely out of duty, they have the potential to become routine or tedious. I believe service to God is the same way--when my heart attitude towards the acts of service are not right, I can very quickly slip into the mindset of either pride ("My church should be thankful they have me") or self pity ("No one recognizes how much I do around here"). None of which is truly pleasing to God. How convicting!

2. My responsibility to invest in my communication and relationship with The Lord.
A few weeks ago this thought really hit me...if I talked to Luke as often and as long as I talked to God, how would our relationship look? Wow. To rephrase, if I were to go days or weeks hardly talking to Luke at all (as I'm ashamed to say I've done with The Lord--short, unfocused prayer times, etc.) we would probably have a really terrible marriage. I know everyone talks about the importance of communication in marriage, so much so that it sounds cliche, but it's really incredibly true. The minute our loving and focused communication starts slipping, our closeness begins to suffer. The sad thing to me is that in the area of my relationship with God, a communication breach is always MY FAULT. Not His. Ever, in any way. God has given me His Word, and promised to speak to me through it. I have everything I need, and yet I fail Him and hinder a close, loving relationship by MY lack of communication. It would be as if Luke came home from work with loving words and arms open wide for me, and I turned my back and ignored him. I wouldn't dream of doing that to my sweet husband...yet how often do I neglect to draw near to my Lord because I "don't have the time"? 

3. How seriously I need to take sin.
When I hurt Luke, even in a small or seemingly insignificant way, it breaks my heart. I can't be content or happy until I have asked and received his forgiveness, and I know that things are reconciled between us. The feeling that I have caused a rift between us is something that I can hardly stand.

And yet, so often I tend to take a light view of "little" sins or offenses against God. I've really been convicted about this lately, because obviously I should be much more zealous about keeping a "clean slate" with God than I am even with my husband!

4. How much God loves me.
My husband loves me with such a selfless and unconditional love. He shows it every day through his words and actions--there has never been a time when I doubted that he loved me dearly. God has used Luke's love in my life to prove to me how much He Himself loves me. As much as I love and respect my husband, he is a sinner, as am I. And yet, if the love and care of a mere flawed human being can be so sweet and fulfilling to me, how much more the love of a perfect and unchanging God? To take this thought a step further...Luke has seen me at my worst and chosen to love me still. But though he knows me better than any other human on earth, even he cannot see my heart and the sin and folly it contains. God can, and His love for me is still perfect. That is amazing to think about! God knows all my deepest thoughts and imperfections, and keeps on loving me in spite of them. 

I hope that these thoughts were a blessing to you, whether you are in a relationship or not. They have been coming back to me over and over during the last few months, so I figured it was about time I tried to verbalize them. :) 

I'm sure once baby comes, I will have a whole new world of things God will want to teach me through that! For those wondering, the pregnancy is going well, and baby seems to be progressing as well as possible! :) I'll be 18 weeks on Tuesday, which means we will be able to find out the gender of our little one in about 2-3 weeks, depending on when I can get the scan before or after Thanksgiving. I'll be sharing on here once we find out!

Have a wonderful week! 
Mykaela

Boldness to Enter

John 1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

The priests in the temple were quietly, reverently going about their duties in the temple that day. There was a high Sabbath, the Passover, the very next day, and preparations were being made for the holy celebration of the Jews' deliverance from Egypt. Perfect lambs would have their blood shed and poured out for the sins of others. Unleavened bread and bitter herbs would fill the mouths of devout Jews all over Jerusalem, the very next day.

None of the people could come into God's presence freely, to pour out their hearts in praise and worship, because the way was not yet made into that Holy of Holies. A thick, impenetrable curtain hung in the temple, a visible, tangible separation between the sons of men and the holy presence of God. 

Until that day. As the priests prepared the altar for the lambs of sacrifice the next day, just outside the city, God's Perfect Lamb was being killed. As the bitter herbs were gathered, the Messiah was tasting the bitterness of death. As the unleavened bread was to be broken, the Living Bread himself was being broken and His blood poured out for the sins of the entire world. 

So few realized how holy, how perfect, how just was the sacrifice happening on this day! To the spectators standing by, it was either a day of great joy that the man who had caused so much chaos was finally gone; or a day of deepest grief that the Saviour was being crucified. I wonder if any person watching the crucifixion of our Lord realized that the way was being paved, the door to the very presence of Almighty God was being torn open by the death of the One on the middle cross!

In the dim silence of the temple, the earth began to shake. Faint tremors at first, but building, growing, until it seemed as if the very skies themselves must be falling, crushing the fragile world to pieces. 

The temple was no longer silent. The roar of the earth, crying out at the death of its Creator, echoed through the massive halls. Pottery shattered, metal instruments and vessels clashed to the floor, and priests and worshippers alike scrambled for cover from falling dust and rubble.

And then, as the precious Lamb took His last breath, it happened.

The veil, the wall that none dared to touch or pass--even the high priest could be struck dead on the one day a year he entered into it--tore apart from top to bottom. Can you imagine the sound it must have made as the separation between man and God's holy presence was ripped in two? Historical records indicate that the veil was at least 4 inches thick, woven of thick, strong materials, and so heavy it took 300 men to move it. This in itself is an amazing thing--it could not have been torn simply from the earthquake. It was the hand of God, removing the barrier and opening the way to His throne because of the sacrificial death of His only Son. It is so powerful to hear of this act of God...It demonstrates so clearly that the work of salvation truly was complete. When Christ said, "It is Finished", it was. Forever.

Praise God that we no longer need to live under the bondage of the law, offering sacrifices for sin day by day! I am so thankful that I can now come boldly before the throne of grace! I can talk to God any time of day, wherever I am, with the knowledge that through Christ, I am enabled to do so. What a wonderful God we serve!
Mykaela