Can you look at someone and tell if they are genuinely happy or that they have great joy? Have you ever noticed the joy on someone's face that you run into at the store? Do you notice how radiant your coworkers are when they come into work in the morning? Or is it just the opposite, the people around you seem angry and aggravated for no reason?
Does your own happiness or joy spill over into every area of your life? Can others see you are genuinely content? Do your coworkers like to be around you because of your delightful spirit? I believe when you are truly content in your marriage, you will be truly content in other areas of your life. And others will be able to see the contentment you exhibit.
God provides this type of joy in your life as well. When you know who you belong to, you don't worry. When you have a real relationship with Christ, you have a certain kind of joy! A joy that's an unspeakable joy. But what if that joy was combined with the joy of having a loving and supportive spouse that also has a real relationship with Christ? A spouse that wants to please you because pleasing you would please God? A spouse that loves you like Christ loves you? A spouse that wants to be a better person? What if you had this kind of spouse? What if you were this kind of spouse? Close your eyes for a moment. Can you envision this kind of life? Think about how your life would be different if you and your spouse had this type of marriage. How different your conversations would be. How you handle conflict would be different. How much time you spend apart would be different. How your intimacy level would be different.
Ephesians 5:22-32 describes marriage in comparison to Christ and the church. The message bible explains it well: 22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
25-28 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.
29-33 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
Whew! What a marriage? So, are you truly content? Are you married to someone who pleases Christ? Are you a spouse that is pleasing to Christ? If not, what's stopping you from being the best spouse ever and being truly content? You won't always have good days, but I guarantee your good days will outnumber your bad ones.
Signed,
Truly Content!
