Marriage is not easy. If you go the way of the world and choose marriage to make you happy, you soon find yourself disappointed. If you go with the Christian idea that marriage is supposed to make you holy, not happy, you miss the joy. To have a good marriage, you must be a student of the Word. I knew this in theory when I got married. In real life, I find myself needing to return to the Word again and again.
God's Word tells me that marriage has value. Genesis shows that it was not good for man to be alone (Gen 2:18), and how God created woman as man's helper. Ephesians 5 reflects the created order of marriage, and how marriage images Christ's relationship with the church. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes show how marriage can be a source of joy. Marriage is a good thing. When times are hard and days are dark, I need that reminder from a source of truth. God's Word is that truth.
The Word tells me who I am supposed to be as a wife, and how I can be a blessing to my husband's life. Noble and prudent are some of the adjectives that describe the wife that is a blessing in the Old Testament (Prov 12:4, 19:14). The New Testament tells me about submitting to and respecting my husband (Eph 5:22-33; Col 3:18). These are not things that come naturally to me. I need reminders.
Reading the Bible convicts me of the many ways that I fail as a wife. I fail when I disgrace my husband (Prov 12:4). I fail when I am quarrelsome (Prov 19:13). To be unfaithful is to fail not only my husband, but also God. I want to do neither.
I would like to say that I know everything the Bible has to say about marriage. The reality is that I don't. I need the Word. I need its truth. I need its correction. The Word has immense value, most of all because it leads me to the author of marriage, and the author of life, God the Father, and He is of the greatest value!
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