On Love and Marriage

Find rest, my soul

In Christ alone

Know His Power

In quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with You above the storm

Father, You are King over the flood

I will be still know You are God

I have come to the end of the road at the workplace when this song resounded in my heart.

A war cry for overcoming even if victory is not in sight. A declaration of faith. That God is LORD over life's storms.

Before the world was, He is. God's Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet.

Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God's Law will be alive and working. Matthew 5:18 The Message. He is forever.

The past few weeks have been nothing but tumultuous.

Addressing underlying parental marital woes that tend to surface from time to time.

Confronting scarred familial legacy and exposing the stance of some family members that can be detrimental to marital relationships.

In each a lesson to learn, a choice to make, a sin to confess, and unforgiveness to surrender.I understood that hurt arises out of misunderstanding, presumption and pride.

It takes humility and honesty to admit when we are wrong, be it in a marriage, amongst family, friends or co-workers.

If we choose to hold on to our self-proclaimed self-righteousness, regardless of whether we are right or wrong, we pay a price for it.

Even as pride comes before a fall, reverse self-destruction can also take place when we allow our pride to keep us from growing as a person.

This effect is especially magnified in a marriage. The posture of our heart may or may not alienate others, worsen misunderstanding and widen rifts.

Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.

Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church,

not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty.

Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.

And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favour - since they're already "one" in marriage. Ephesians 5:21-28 The Message.

Marriage may be between two persons, but how a marital relationship pans out does not only affect the married couple. It also affects the people around them.

No child would want their parents to be ridiculed or treated badly by others. Likewise, no parent would want to see their children being unhappily married.

Marriage vows are sacred, to be lived out reverently towards each other and towards God. When a husband loves and respects his wife, the woman finds herself made whole in the marriage.

In return, the wife who is completed by her husband's love will naturally reciprocate by supporting and honouring her husband.

Echoing the words of the Apostle Paul, "This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all.What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church.

And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honour her husband. Ephesians 5:32-33 The Message.

Somewhere out there a spouse is hurting from the wounds inflicted by a self-centred and abusive partner; a child recoils in fear as parents pull each other's hair out.

Home is where the heart is. The home should be a place where one feels connected, accepted and rested. The sanctity of marriage makes the home a sanctuary.

Shalom,

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