The Christian Perspective of Marriage

     "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
     Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." - Ephesians 5:22-33
  
Week number two of the series on relationships at young adults was about marriage as you might have guessed by the post title. 

There is a lot that can be said about marriage. First of all that it is God's design as described in the passage above that a man and a woman should reflect the relationship between Christ and the church in their marriage, that their marriage might show the world what true love is.

On the contrary, a consumer relationship says, "I will like you and be with you until I don't like you anymore." Which is what our world deems acceptable for marriage relationships.

God's design is a covenant relationship that says, "I will be faithful to you no matter what, until death do us part." This kind of relationship provides the safety and security needed for honesty and vulnerability because you know the other person is not going to walk away.

The link below is to a video that contains three stories of Christian marriages that may change the way you see marriage.

https://vimeo.com/104466254 

Our discussion was summarized with the following three reasons for Christian marriage:

1. Marriage can bring relief to sexual temptation and free an individual up to put more energy into serving Christ (1 Corinthians 7:9, 36).
2. Marriage can help you double your ministry effectiveness if you are married to someone with similar life goals and interests (1 Corinthians 7:32-35).
3. Marriage has a sanctifying effect on our lives and its purpose is not to make us happy, but holy.

As you can see I was left with a lot to ponder when I got home and I am still not done thinking it all through but I know that I am committed to, if God's plan for me is to get married, making a marriage that will best glorify God and show the world the kind of love that exists between Christ and his church. 

The Christian Perspective of Singleness

Our young adults group at church is doing a series on relationships. 

Why? 

Because we are all impacted by relationships in one way or another and most people who are going to get married do it in their 20s and it is important for us to take Jesus seriously and help each other follow Him faithfully in this area of life. 

After taking a week to reflect on our ideas of relationships, what our parents taught us, what culture says, and what the Bible says, we dove right into a discussion about singleness.

Our world and culture prizes and worships love and romance above all else. Think about the fact that 9/10 times the first song you hear when you turn on the radio is about falling in or out of love. Not to mention the types of movies that are the most popular usually have some element of romance in them. Culture says to be single is to be the story still waiting for the happy ending. 

Sadly, it is also often in churches where the vibe exists that it is a shame to be single. 

Listen to what John Piper has to say about the subject:

http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/single-in-christ-a-name-better-than-sons-and-daughters

"As long as you are single, this is your calling: to so live for Christ as to make it clearer to the world and to the church

1. That the family of God grows not by propagation through sexual intercourse, but by regeneration through faith in Christ;
2. That relationships in Christ are more permanent, and more precious, than relationships in families; 
3. That marriage is temporary, and finally gives way to the relationship to which it was pointing all along: Christ and the church - the way a picture is no longer needed when you see face to face; 
4. And that faithfulness to Christ defines the value of life; all other relationships get their final significance from this. No family relationship is ultimate; relationship to Christ is.

To Him be glory in the Christ-exalting drama of marriage and the Christ-exalting drama of the single life. Amen"

I appreciated hearing this message a lot because it shed a lot of Biblical light on singleness and helped me to gain a fresh perspective on this stage of my life, however long it may last for. 

1 Corinthians 7:25-40 also speaks a great deal on the subject of singleness and is worth spending time pondering.

Only You by Dan Bremnes

I'm in wonder, of the wonder

The rags that I've made aren't the price that you've paid as I come to You
Leaves me humbled, cause without grace I'm bound 
To all that I am and all that I cannot undo

Nothing I have can erase all the pain,Nothing of me can bring on the change that I need

It's only You that can change my heart
It's only You that can mend my life
It's only You that can make me whole,that can make me whole

I'm in wonder, of the wonder
The life that You gave as You bled in my place as an offering
Waves and thunder, have held me under,
But from here I am healed by the freedom that comes from the cross

Nothing I have can erase all the pain,
Nothing of me can bring on the change that I need

It's only You that can change my heart
It's only You that can mend my life
It's only You that can make me whole,that can make me whole


When I reflect on the lyrics of this song I am reminded that, no matter how hard I try to "fix" myself and be who God wants me to be, it is Him who does that work in my heart. My job is to seek Him and ask Him to do that work within me.

When My Faith Became Real

Though I can distinctly remember sitting on the couch in the living room praying with my Dad and asking Jesus to come into my heart when I was four, I cannot confirm that my faith was genuine then.

I grew up attending Hillsdale Baptist Church and I was taught biblical truth. I understood through my elementary school years that I needed to do my best to "live like a Christian" and share my faith with those around me but I was not very motivated. Little me had yet to discover what a relationship with God and faith was really about. 

My first real challenge began in grade 4. I recited a speech about palomino horses in front of my class and I felt pretty good about it. Perhaps too good, because I was not prepared for what was coming in the next four years. Grade 5 speeches came around and the teacher wrote a list of names on the board in the order for speech presentations. When my name was called, I got up in front of the class and froze. Then tears began rolling down my cheeks and I couldn't speak. The teacher suggested that I sit down and try to calm myself so I could try again later. Long story short, I ended up having to do my speech for only the teacher because I could not present it to the class. 

To this day I cannot explain why I was not able to speak in front of my classmates. It was not that I did not desire to, nor was it because I was afraid. But nonetheless I still froze and cried for the next two years of speeches. Then came grade 8.

That was the year I decided that I was not going to cry no matter what. I was going to say my speech in front of the class. Confidence seemed to prevail until I stood up to speak and then history repeated itself. I was angry. Angry because I was embarrassed and because I did not know what to do. Then I got the best advice of my life. 

One girl, who was not a Christian, asked me if I had prayed before doing my speech. I hadn't. How humbling that God would use this girl to remind me to ask Him for help.

So I prayed. Then I said my speech with a new confidence in front of the class. That was the moment that my faith became real. 

Now here is why: 

1. My ultimate purpose is to glorify God.

2. I realized then that I cannot do life successfully on my own. 

3. By acknowledging my need for God through prayer, glory was His when I said my speech.

From that day on I knew that I could no longer claim any talents or good things I have done as my own, but it has been because of God that I am able. My body is kept alive because of Him as I recognize that I cannot control my heartbeat.

I am made more aware every day how important it is that my faith in God never stops growing.

After all, He speaks loudly through His Word...

"The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." 

- 1 Peter 4:7-11

Road Trip

I make it a point to visit Ruth at least once a year. You can read about one of my trips here. This year I was extra excited to head out on this trip, probably mostly due to the fact that I need a break. A break from Regina, from school, from work, from people (I love you all dearly but I'm sure you need a break from me, too ;) ), and most of all from my busy schedule. 

I had my music playing loudly as I drove, as per usual. From country to pop to rap and acoustics, I listened to it all. As I was driving past Indian Head I had to tap my brakes, cancelling my cruise control, to allow someone to pass a semi before I could do the same. But something unexpected happened this time. My foot barely caught on the lanyard attached to my keys and the car shut off, keys still in the ignition and turned to the "on" position. At first I was not sure what to do. For all I knew my car had just died on me. I flicked on my hazards and rolled to a stop on the side of the highway. I quickly put the car in "park," turned the keys back and pulled them out, removed the lanyard from my keys, and started the car again. Momentary set-back :). Praise the Lord that's all the mishap that I encountered on my way to Steinbach. 

The rest of the trip I found the Lord tugging on my heart. Asking me what's going on? Where is my time being spent? Why don't I pray more? My soul in turn experienced a deep longing for my Saviour. The reality is that I need help. I know that I do not desire to do what God wants on my own. But I know that I need Him, and that I was created for His glory and that He desires for me to fulfill my created purpose to bring Him glory. So I worshipped God while I drove, and by the time I got to Steinbach, I felt renewed and revived and filled with joy, ready to persevere in faith.

I need to do road trips more often :).