In This Series: The High Calling of Loving & Cherishing Your Spouse, Part 2
It is night. In a cold hospice room illumined by a dim light, an aged man kneels at the bedside of his dying wife. More than six decades have come and gone since their wedding day. Parting is imminent. Onlookers are silent. Darkness seemingly envelops the entire scene. With her hand grasped in his, a warm prayer of thanksgiving breaks the silence. A heavenly aura begins to enlighten the room as historic instances of God’s goodness and faithfulness are mentioned one after another. Praises are heard for the unique ways God cared for them, the joys they celebrated, hardships they endured, the losses they mourned, the victories He granted, the sorrows He enabled them to endure, the mountains they climbed, the discoveries they made, the joys they shared, the home they built, the legacy they left, the experiences they treasured, and the love they shared. The humble space blazes with the light of God’s glory. His heartfelt prayer ends. A smile lifts the face of his beloved. Their eyes meet one last time. She is gone. Death has parted them.
To the worldly eye, this scene may be touching on some level. Faithful love is rare and refreshing to behold, parting moments are sorrowful, and a life well-lived is admirable. But the profound beauty of this moment can only be seen through the lens of faith. The world merely sees the humble passing of an ordinary person and the sad parting of childhood sweethearts. But through the eyes of faith, something far greater is seen. We see the final act of a mighty king and queen, exercising dominion over humanity’s greatest fear. As they stare death straight in the face, they are not shaken. Their faith in God is undiminished, their love for one another is stronger than ever, and their hope for a glorious future has never been brighter. She is not afraid to go, and he is not afraid to let her go because they reign with the One who conquers death. Such are God’s royal regents who reign over the issues of life–and death–together.
How do you see your marriage? Do you view it through the eyes of the world? Or faith? Has its humbleness, commonness, or difficulties blinded you to its significance? Or do you see the great opportunity to image the invisible God, to let Him exercise His dominion through you in beautiful and wonderful ways? Rekindling your wedding-day optimism for your marriage begins with catching sight of God’s vision for marriage.
“Lift up your eyes and see!” is a repeated exhortation in Scripture to pause and contemplate who God is and the opportunities He sets before us (Isaiah 40:26; John 4:35). Many people fail to grasp God’s vision for their marriage. After the grand wedding day, the mundane realities of daily life set in. Vision for God’s great design is lost in the commonness of it all. Just as many failed to see God at work in Jesus because He was too human (Matthew 13:55), many lose sight of God’s glorious purposes for married life because it is too common. It’s easy to have a vision for the marriage before the wedding. The relationship is new, exciting, optimistic, and has a very definite goal: The wedding ceremony. However, during the so-called “happily ever after” years, many couples lose sight of God’s vision, pessimism sets in, love stales, and ruin becomes a reality.
Lift up your eyes and see the great things that God has for you and your marriage. Do not let anything that has happened in your marriage convince you otherwise. God is bigger than your past. He knows what He is doing in your present. You can trust Him with your future. Embrace God’s vision for your marriage. Reigning together begins with loving and cherishing one another. This bond is what the world will seek to break. Do not relegate this principle to secondary status. The call to love and cherish your spouse as God does His people is a calling of the greatest magnitude.
For more on how to love and cherish your spouse, see Reigning Together: A Christ-Exalting Marriage, available on Amazon.
