Genesis 2:21-23 NLT So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh of my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
The couple above becoming one? A wise man once called that a “profound mystery.”
The socially acceptable view of marriage has become an angry man, trapped in the relationship with ball and chain, as if holy matrimony is actually a sentence for some unknown crime. His freedom, bank account, friendships and pretty much life is over!
The wife however, has been dreaming about her wedding day since she was a child. The beautiful dresses, wonderful food, decadent cake and tall, dark and handsome husband.
So, life as he knows it is over and she’s going to have the best day of her life. Hmmm, am I the only one scratching my head in confusion? Has anyone thought about, not just the wedding, but the marriage?
The couple above is at high risk of misery, as his single life becomes a distant memory and her fairy tale fails to unfold.
As Christians we need to realize long before saying “I do.” that marriage was never meant to be more of the same for him and a story book for her. It is supposed to be, as Paul said “a profound mystery.
Ephesians 5:31-33 NIV ”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. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Paul did not mention a disconnected husband and father, spending all of his free time on a hobby or working overtime to avoid the happenings at home. Notice there is also no mention of a wife and mother consuming all of her time and energy obsessing over the children to the point that the issues in her marriage are just a distraction, easily pushed to the bottom of her to-do list.
The husband and wife are supposed to be united, loving and respecting each other. Not the wife nagging her husband out to the point of insanity. Not the husband ordering his wife around every inch of the house. It is not a battle with the husband on one side and the wife on the other no matter how much the socially acceptable idea makes it seem .
“One’s view on submission in marriage isn’t about the outcome of a decision: it’s about how that decision is made. It isn’t about who is in charge; it’s about how we treat each other. It isn’t about hierarchy; it’s about partnership. A Godly marriage is two people working together to illustrate the love of God in their lives.”-Carla Barnhill
This was never meant to be a game.
