“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” 2 Corinthians 11:2
The Bible says that the Church is God’s bride. For a man, this is a strange thought. It’s hard for me to imagine being married to
God, becoming one with God. I think this
is why God gave us the picture of marriage as being represented by a man and a
woman…so that we would have a tangible example of what this looks like. Also, He probably wanted to adequately
prepare us for an eternal life with Him.
Why the topic of marriage?
I’m really not sure, God gave me the word “Infidelity” and when I looked
it up in the dictionary it said:
1 the action or state of being
unfaithful to a spouse or other sexual partner
2 unbelief in a particular religion,
esp. Christianity.
Realizing that God views me as his bride
reveals a lot about His character. God made us in His image so that He could
marry us- He wanted to be that close to us.
Think about how well married couples know each other…usually better than
any other person in the world. God
didn’t create us so that we would be distant from Him and oblivious to what He
is like, what He thinks about, and what He wants to do. He created us for the most intimate thing
that we as humans can do…love and marriage!
This is also why God wants us to come to Him for everything, He is
jealous for us. I’m not married, but I
can imagine that if my wife was constantly going to another man for help or
affirmation, I’d be pretty ticked off. Communication
is another vital aspect for a healthy marriage.
Learning to speak from the heart and learning to actively listen are
both very hard for me to do. But God
wants to communicate with us, a lot, and He is capable of doing so in infinite
ways.
Unbelief…this is basically the antithesis to
Christianity. Everything we as
Christians do is based on faith, believing in something we can’t see. In fact, God says that without it, we can’t
please Him. I’ve learned a lot recently
about putting my faith in God. This may
sound obvious, but I’ve noticed how often I put my trust in myself. I frequently
don’t do things because I think I’m incapable or because I am afraid. I’ve been looking at it the wrong way
though. It’s not my faith, but having
faith in Christ. I am learning to take
my eyes off of myself and what I can/cannot do, and to put them on Him. The verse below has helped me to combat this lately:
“I have been crucified with Christ: it is no
longer I who live, but Christ lives in Me; and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20
It’s not my faith, or my confidence, or my
boldness, but His. Everything I need, He
has made provision for. I lack
nothing…in Christ! This simple thought
has helped me to step out more (to do God’s will), believing that it’s not me,
but trusting that He will do it through me.
So what does “Infidelity” have to do with my
time in the Ukraine…I have no idea.
Marriage is not something I really wanted to talk about, but it is
helpful for me to understand how God views me.
It helps take away any performance issues, comparison, and pressure I put on myself,
which is my prayer for you…I want to help remove any stress, worry, burdens
that you may be carrying. You don’t have
to carry them…cast them onto Christ and learn to trust that He has made
provision for any and every need that you may have.
**Below is a rediculous video from the dance off, we dominated, during our month 9 debrief…enjoy!
