A Great Joy

I really love my wife. She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. She’s a great wife, a great mom, and the person I love laughing with the most. That is one of the best joys of my life. Laughing with the woman I love most. She loves Jesus more than she loves me and I don’t think I could ask for anything more.

What We Really Need

My thoughts have been drawn toward our marriages very much lately. There are some among us who are struggling in their marriages, and my heart has been burdened. I’ve asked myself why. Why is this happening? We finished, last year, a great sermon series on marriage. There are numerous very good resources available today for people who are having marital problems. The men have Promise Keepers, the women have great teachers like Beth Moore, and others; all of whom have good teaching on how to have strong families. We’ve done the studies, we’ve heard the sermons, we’ve read the books, but still marital problems persist among God’s people. What is our problem?

I will submit to you that the problem we face is deeper than husband/wife relationships. Yes. The breakdown of husband/wife relationships is merely a symptom of the greater problem. It is the fever that tells us something is wrong inside. And trying to break the fever with cold cloths, ice packs, and bandages won’t take care of the real problem when the problem actually needs an entirely different treatment.

Here is my fear. I’m afraid that to fix our relationships we’ve trusted in great preaching; we’ve trusted in the latest, hottest Bible studies; we’ve trusted in the best-selling Christian books on marriage; but we have not individually – husband and wife – trusted Jesus Christ for healing. You may balk at that, but lets think clearly on this. Before the 20th century arrived, how did good marriages ever exist? There was no Focus on the Family, there were no Promise Keepers, there weren’t 10 best-selling books being written every year on how to fix your marriage and relationships. I mean, unless you were wealthy, most people only had a few books in their house, included in that number, a family Bible. Literally, all people had to rely on was Jesus. And He was (and is) enough. Now here in the 21st century we must ask ourselves, “What is our problem?”

Please hear my heart. I’m not against using the materials available to us to help our marriages. I’ve used them. Some of them are excellent. Some of them, not so much. Neither am I against seeking counseling. Many couples need an objective outsider to help them navigate the hurts and wounds that have been created. But here’s my point. With few exceptions, generally most marriages crumble at the fault of both husband and wife. So both husband and wife must humble themselves before Jesus if they wish to save their marriage. But not even for that reason. Each man and woman who calls themselves born again must humble themselves before Jesus because He deserves it. If you seek out Jesus just so He can save your marriage, your marriage will still ultimately fail. Jesus wants us to seek Him with no strings attached because He saved us, He loves us, and He is worthy of such devotion.

What we really need is an honest confession; a confession that leads us to the foot of the cross. If we are going to be a confessional people (and we should be) we must realize that the health and worth of every relationship to which we link ourselves will be a reciprocation of the relationship we have with Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must come to His cross, confessing our deep need of Him. We must confess our complete dependence upon His mercy and grace. We must also confess our rebellion against Him. And along with these confessions, we must repent and throw ourselves upon His mercy. It is then that we will be on the path to wholeness individually, and wholeness in our marriages.

On April 27, we will be having a special evening of worship. During this worship gathering, we will focus on Jesus and how He is our Groom. We will worship Him as our coming King, our coming Groom, and we will explore the significance of His relationship to the Church, His Bride. This will not be a time for in depth teaching, but rather a time to come and throw ourselves upon His mercy. It will be a time for us individually to confess and repent. If you are at a difficult time in your life right now, this perhaps is the opportunity God has made for you to come and seek His forgiveness and restoration. I pray you will attend, even if life is going well for you, come and worship the King with us as His Bride gathered.