“God made marriage and all He makes is good.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 26, 2021
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. Genesis 1:27
In his devotional, The Meaning of Marriage, Timothy Keller writes, “Our culture has a love-hate relationship with marriage.”
On one hand, some people idolize matrimony. They believe that if they just find “the one” their problems will disappear. Sadly, movies and our culture elevate romance in such a way that we may see marriage as a type of savior.
On the other hand, some people despise even the thought of marriage. Because of hurts they have experienced, or because of negative role models and societal messages, they are cynical about tying the knot. They believe marriage destroys individuality, that it’s a personal prison that will keep them from fully becoming who they are created to be, and that it’s also just plain difficult. Who wants to sign up for that?
It’s unwise to put marriage in the place of God, believing it can save us. If we do, and we find someone we believe is the perfect person to give our hearts to, we will be disappointed when we realize our beloved isn’t as perfect as we first thought. Then we may blame them, say they are not enough and walk away. Unfortunately, idealizing marriage and love can lead us to repeat the same cycle later.
Conversely, if we are cynical about love and marriage, we may lock our hearts away, become selfish, and overly self-protective, thereby cutting ourselves off from the joy that a good union brings when two people serve, care for, and protect one another.
The Lord doesn’t want us to either idealize or to be cynical about marriage. From the beginning, He designed marriage, and anything He made is good. But marriage isn’t perfect because it’s comprised of two imperfect people who live in an imperfect world.
With a right perspective, we won’t see marriage as a vehicle to fix ourselves or our lives. We will know marriage can’t save us, but we will know that being in a good marriage can bolster us and give us courage and hope for life. We will know it’s impossible for marriage to remove our burdens, but we will know it can give us someone special with whom to share our struggles.
With a right perspective about marriage, we neither idolize it—or despise it. Then, we’ll be able to enjoy marriage and we won’t become disappointed believing that our mate “isn’t enough.” We also won’t avoid marriage out of cynicism.
All that God made is good and life-giving. As we grow closer to the Christ, and become more emotionally and spiritually healthy, a good marriage can become even more of what God created it to be.
All He makes is good.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)
Prayer
Lord, thank you for making marriage. Thank you that it’s an opportunity to look more like you and reflect your love to the world. Amen.
Application
Have you idealized marriage or the thought of finding the “perfect mate”? Or, are you self-protective or cynical about marriage? Talk with the Lord about your perspective and ask Him to give you His perspective.
Related Reading
Colossians 3:14; Hebrews 10:24; Ephesians 4:2-3
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