This week’s devotions are based on Week 5 of Building Together: “Behind Closed Doors!” (WATCH HERE)
First happy birthday to my dad…who is a faithful devotion reader and continues to be an example of creating a marriage that reflect Christ!
Genesis 2:20-24 But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
From the beginning, God designed marriage to be more than two people sharing a home. In Genesis 2, God brings the man and woman together and declares that the two become “one flesh.” Marriage is God’s gift, God’s design, and God’s good creation.
But Scripture gives marriage an even greater purpose. Marriage points beyond itself to the relationship between Christ and His Church.
Throughout the Bible, God describes His relationship with His people using the language of marriage. The Lord calls Himself Israel’s husband. Paul describes the Church as a bride promised to one husband, Christ. Revelation looks forward to the day when “the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready.”
That means Christian marriage is meant to tell a story. It is meant to give the world a small glimpse of a much greater love.
The story is about Christ.
Jesus is the Bridegroom who loves His Bride, the Church. He doesn’t love her because she has earned His love. He doesn’t remain faithful because she has always been faithful to Him. Christ loves sinners who have wandered, failed, rebelled, and fallen short. He gives Himself for His people, forgives their sins, washes them clean, and makes them His own.
That changes how we understand marriage.
A husband is called to love his wife not simply because she is lovable or because she meets his expectations. He is called to love her because Christ has shown him what love looks like. A wife is called to respect and honor her husband not merely because he has earned it, but because she too belongs to Christ.
This doesn’t mean Christian marriages are perfect. They aren’t. Two sinners living together will eventually hurt each other. There will be selfishness, impatience, disagreements, disappointments, and times when we fail to keep the promises we have made.
But Christian marriage has something the world desperately needs: the Gospel of forgiveness.
When a husband says, “I was wrong. Will you forgive me?” he is reflecting something of Christ’s humility. When a wife forgives rather than keeping a record of wrongs, she is reflecting something of Christ’s grace. When husband and wife continue to love each other through difficult seasons, they are showing something of God’s covenant faithfulness.
Your marriage, if you are married, is more than your marriage. It is an opportunity to display Christ’s love.
And if you are not married, this truth still belongs to you. You are part of Christ’s Bride, the Church. Your identity and worth are not determined by your marital status. Christ has claimed you as His own. You belong to Him.
That is ultimately where this passage leads us. Before we think about being a better husband or wife, we look at the perfect Bridegroom. Christ loved His Church and gave Himself for her. He has forgiven us completely and made us His own.
Because we have received that love, we can begin to reflect it in our homes and relationships.
Reflect: How might your marriage or closest relationships give others a glimpse of Christ’s love and faithfulness? Where is Christ inviting you to show greater forgiveness, patience, or faithfulness to someone you love?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the faithful Bridegroom who loved Your Church and gave Yourself for her. Thank You for making me Your own through Your death and resurrection. Forgive me for the times I have been selfish, impatient, unfaithful, or unwilling to forgive. Teach me to reflect Your love in my marriage, my family, and all my relationships. Help husbands to love sacrificially, wives to respond with grace and respect, and all of us to remember that our relationships belong under Your lordship. Make our homes places where Your faithfulness, forgiveness, and love can be seen. Amen.