5.30.2010

Relationship Health

This week, I have really found myself thinking about the way I live my life and what that shows about the state of my heart. Last Sunday's sermon at church was AWESOME! You can find it in .mp3 format here. I always love being reminded of the beauty of the gospel of grace. There was one question in the sermon that really caused some soul searching and conviction. I can't remember the exact wording, but it translated to me as:

Do you spend as much or more time pursuing and seeking the Lord as you do pursuing and seeking things in His creation?

When this question was posed, the answer, "No," immediately came out of my heart. We can seek God out in His creation - an example would be my most recent post about finding and worshipping the Lord in sewing - so pursuing Him isn't just what has become the cliche "quiet time". But how often are we really that intentional about seeking Him in all things? How often is our goal to meet with Him instead of learning about Him being an after thought as we pursue our own passions. I wish I always had an eternal mindset consumed with desire for the Lord and His presence, but the truth is that I often don't.

Recently in home group, we studied the topic of marriage and how it is a reflection/a shadow of the relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:32). I've been talking a lot with some of the women in home group about what it really looks like to submit to our husbands as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:22) and how to respect our husbands well (Ephesians 5:33). We've been talking about what healthy marriages look like, what unhealthy marriages look like, things that really hurt marital relationships, and things that make marital relationships grow in the beauty and joy that they were meant to be. This of course has made me think on my own marriage a lot.

One of the biggest things I have learned about myself in marriage is that quality time and intentionality speak volumes to me. I enjoy verbal encouragement and nice words, but they mean nothing to me if actions don't seem to back them up. But oh man! If Robbie is thinking of me and responding to love he has toward me in being intentional about spending quality time with me or doing things that he may or may not like doing, how rich is the mutual joy and affection that results? What beautiful depths of love do we experience? How much more are we one?

Now, if I am the bride of Christ, what type of marriage/relationship do we have if I always put Him off, fail to make Him a priority, only spend leftover time with Him instead of using my time intentionally to respond to Him and His pursuit of me? Thinking on this relationally really takes the legalism out of Christian living for me. It's not about checking my check boxes. Think about all the richness and depth I'm missing out on! What if I'm too busy doing things supposedly for Him and His benefit that I actually end up ignoring His pursuit of my heart and affections? Then I'm actually depriving myself of love, peace, and joy that is offered.

Oh how I've fallen short before my heavenly husband and brought destruction to our marriage! But the good news is that He's offered grace through a covenant pledge (shedding His blood on the cross to reconcile me to Himself) - regardless of my failure (Romans 5:8). He's still pursuing me, still wooing me. How will I respond? How will you respond? How's the health of your marriage with Christ? Do you put as much or more effort into your heavenly marriage as your earthly one? If you do not have an earthly spouse, do you put as much or more effort into your heavenly eternal relationship as your earthly temporal relationships?

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