"But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of
the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." (1Cor 11:3, NIV2)
In other words, we are one in God, just as God the Father, God the Son and God
The Holy Spirit are One.
Many proclaim that this Bible verse gives authority to the husband to rule over
his wife, no matter what. This is truly a manipulation of the Scriptures.
Instead we are encouraged to be one with God in every aspect of our lives. Would
our Father want your spouse to be exploited? No way! Jesus paid the price for
his or her freedom as well as your own.
Instead, this text tells us that the husband is supposed to be the spiritual
leader, encouraging every family member to experience our Father fully, by word
and by action. Unity with our Heavenly Father is the goal: "Two are better than
one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls
down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to
help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can
one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A
cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Eccl 4:9-12, NIV2)
There are many benefits to becoming husband and wife, especially when our focus
is on our Heavenly Father. Together we can do far more than we can accomplish by
ourselves. In simpler words, we work together to make the marriage a bliss. We
are there for one another, encouraging the one who is down, rejoicing when their
endeavors succeed. Loneliness is a thing of the past. We now have someone who
longs to be with us. We can face anything, especially if we focus on the "cord
of 3 strands!"
"Wait a minute! I thought a marriage was between two people. Why do we now speak
of 3 parts to a marriage?"
This is because marriage without having our Heavenly Father in the middle has no
anchor. Without God, our marriage is on peril, as we see so vividly all over our
society.
When my wife and I celebrated our 25 years of marriage (This year will be 31
years!), one of her colleagues wanted to meet me personally. She wanted to
encounter someone who was still in love with his wife after so many years. I had
become an icon because marriage nowadays is not "till death do us part," but
rather, "until I find someone even more exciting!"
I am sorry for my harsh words, but this is not what marriage was meant to be.
Marriage gives us an idea of how much our Father cares for us. If marriage is
merely for our own self-interest, I am sorry, but that is not marriage. Instead
it is merely a business deal, and a bad one at that. Only when we put our Father
in the Heavenly equation will our marriage be solid and fulfilling.
One of the best ways to keep God in the center of our marriages is to pray
together. After all, didn't Jesus gave us the following promise: "Again, truly I
tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will
be done for them by my Father in heaven. Where two or three gather in my name,
there am I with them." (Matt 18:19-20, NIV2)? Prayer is like the cement between
bricks. We become unmovable, solidly bonded with God within our marriages, being
One with God, as we are supposed to be.
For years my wife invited me to go for a walk with her in the evenings. I always
declined. I had better things to do, and besides, it was always either too hot
or too cold. During this time of my life, we started to drift apart, like so
many do. I was quite a moron in those days! A complete ignoratus!
Then God showed me how to revive my marriage. I go for a walk with my wife every
day now. During these walks, we share everything that has happened in our lives,
and by so doing, we grow closer to one another. But more than this, we also make
it a habit to pray together during these walks, and in so doing, we are becoming
one with God.
It is fascinating to see how many of our shared prayers for others are
miraculously answered. Our God is truly a God of miracles. After all we are a
three strand chord, unbreakable because our Father is in the center of our
lives.
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.