A Thought On Relationships

I find it so discouraging and painful when I see people (girls) make statements like this. . .

"Find a man that will take care of you, not you take care of him."

or

"A man should treat you right, not the other way around. . ."

or even vice versa (males saying this about women because we do see both sides to the argument).

What? When did we ever establish that a woman should sit back and do absolutely nothing for her boyfriend or spouse? When and, for better question, who decided that a relationship revolves to please the woman? I have seen this as a constant issue in our culture; we are so careful to try and not break this "feminist" attitude to somehow make up for the pain that has been caused to women through media, through our misconception of sex, or how women are treated by men. But in reality, this way of thinking is so faulted and flawed. The man takes care of the women, treats her with respect, loves her, maybe even pampers her, yet she is to sit back and soak it all in?

Living in a culture that lacks symbiotic, healthy, and giving relationships is difficult for me. With Christ in mind, he designed the relationship between a man and a woman to work together; to be one and partners with one another. For God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." (Genesis 2:18) The Creator of the world created man and woman to be partners on his earth. Not for one to have complete authority over the other, and not for one to take no responsibility in the relationship.

If we look at the design of marriage God intended, he created man to be the head covering his wife, leading her in faith, teaching her, protecting her, loving her, and presenting a Christ like affection that is only imitated after Christ's own love for his church. In that same way, the woman is to encourage, to lift up, to love wholeheartedly, as the Church loves Christ. Why then have we conformed to this idea that a relationship is a give and receive relationship, rather than a give and give? If we aim our expectations of happiness to constantly receive without any of our own efforts, they will fail us. Emotions of passion may fade, but what will last is the beauty of a relationship that resemble Christ's love, ultimately being willing to lay down your own comfort and expectations and happiness if it means to support and love the other. It is not a one-sided effort. It never has been a one-sided effort. What would the church be like if it never loved Christ back, even at the expense of their own comfort and happiness? Ponder on that one for a bit. . .

Challenging? Yes.
Attainable? Yes.

If God's creation is perfect, then his design for marriage and relationships is also perfect. It is genuine, intimate, serving, and ultimately leads to a marriage that is the beauty of oneness, echad.

Marriage

This a post for believers who are married, in a relationship, or seeking a relationship -

Have you ever sat down and truly thought what God's word says about relationships, sex, or His design for marriage? Have you ever sat down with your significant other and discussed the Lord's plans for your relationship? Have you thought about the beautiful creation of marriage?

God intentionally created man and woman to be one, to love, and to glorify the Lord with their hearts. As believers, we have seen what a marriage is not. We have seen the severity of a relationship that is not focused on God. We have seen the depravity in divorce, in adultery, in sin, in emptiness. Many of you may have parents or family members who have suffered in a marriage that failed. You may have seen, first hand, the result of an empty marriage. I know, in my own life, I have seen the repercussion of an ungodly relationship, and it is not pretty. I have seen the pain in adultery. It breaks my heart to see people work on a relationship that really has no foundation on the Lord's intentions for marriage.

By no means do I know how to be married. For one thing, I'm not even married. But I do know what the word of God says about marriage. I know what He intended for marriage to look like. He created the unbreakable covenant between man and woman. He created passionate, spiritual sex for one man and one women to interact in, so they can be in unity with God.

Ask yourself, "How do I understand sex?" "How do I understand marriage in it's full form, intentionally made by God?" It breaks my heart to see a failed marriage; to see people dismiss the Creator's beauty of marriage. One thing we can all work towards, married or not, is to completely understand the true design of marriage. Not what you've been taught or what society has made up, but what God's image of marriage is. My pastor, Jason, did a wonderful message on marriage this past Sunday. It was completely powerful, no matter if you're married or not. He discussed the Lord's beautiful intentions. Take a listen to this podcast, "Hebrews 13:4 // Marriage.Honor.Submit.Gentle", here in either audio or video.

Understanding marriage and constantly learning about it, is essential to any flourishing marriage, especially a Godly one. How can you simply understand your spouse, if you don't even understand the true nature of marriage? 


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