What Was He Thinking?

I am re-reading “Love & War” by John & Stasi Eldredge.  It is amazing (& humbling) to read something again and have things jump out at you like you’ve never seen them before.  Really points out how easily we can forget things…even really important things.

As John & Stasi talk about marriage, they describe marriage as a picture, a “passion play” of God’s love for His people.  In chapter 2 they write this:  “God created marriage as a living, breathing portrait laid out before the eyes of the world so they might see the story of the ages…God is a great lover, and he created marriage to play out on this earth a daily, living, breathing portrait of the intimacy He longs for with His people.”

YIKES!

Our marriages – our lives – are to be a demonstration of God’s love for humanity. That brings to mind the question, “What was He thinking?”  I mean, really, I know me.  I know how I think, how I justify my actions, how I forget what is important or honestly, that I care more about what I want than what others want (more times than I care to admit). Yet people like me are to model God’s perfect love for others.

While that seems to be a mission impossible, it also should serve as a reminder that God is calling us up into His Greater Story.  It should remind me that my life isn’t all about me.  It should remind couples that marriage is more than just about achieving happiness or even just surviving.  It is about being that living, breathing portrait and pointing back to the love of God.