Ephesians 5: 21
Today a couple of my friends are getting married. I am delivering a message at the wedding. My first statement will be to put Christ in the center of their marriage.
In living a 7-day practical faith, our faith practice starts in our homes, with those around us from the beginning of our lives to the end: Parents, siblings, spouses, children. If Christ is in the center of your home life, in your marriage, in your family relationships, then you will be blessed, and the world will be blessed through you.
Regarding marriage, think of Jesus is a stakeholder in your marriage. Christ holds your marriage together, and your thoughts are never far from him.
I can tell you from experience that my wife and I would not have stayed married for 38 years without Christ at the center of our marriage. When the bad times hit, as they inevitably do, pray openly for Christ to remain in the middle of your marriage and for your eyes to be upon him. This technique has helped us.
Paul's opening statement in his analysis of marriage in Ephesians 5 is the key to the whole description, but we often overlook it. In verse 21 he writes:
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
In submitting to each other in marriage, or in family life in general, we are acknowledging that we are not in control of our households. Christ is in control. Christ is at the center. I bow to Christ, and in doing so, I find that my will is not the most important thing, and I'm able to consider the wills and needs of my spouse or other people in the house in my actions and decision-making.
Think of the opposite. If Christ is not in the center, then there is a hole in the center, and a household becomes a battleground for control. I read advice columns every day in which advice seekers write about what are essentially power struggles. The columnists give out advice on how to settle the particular dispute, but never do I see them urge a view of the higher level and the need for a higher power to be in control of the setting and the situation.
Our 7-day practical faith walk begins at home each day. Christ needs to be in the center of our home life for us to experience faithfulness reigning within its walls.
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