SCRIPTURE: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 ESV
THOUGHT: I love a good mystery – not the predictable kind, the smart kind with surprising plot twists that keeps you guessing until the end when suddenly, everything makes total sense. Well, duh, you say to yourself, why didn’t I see that coming?
One reason I am in awe of God is that he is the creator of the mysteries of life. This one-flesh thing was God’s idea, but it’s mostly mystery, don’t you think? We can’t completely understand it, but the husband and wife who make it all the way to the end in a good, Christian marriage can testify to it. Ironically, people who’ve been divorced can also testify to how hard it is to rip one-flesh apart. I know this.
Becoming so deeply a part of another’s life is God’s plan for home and family and the kind of love that begins the process of chipping off our selfish corners and making room for agape. Having children (or not being able to) is another chapter of chipping. We can never give what we don’t possess, and it seems through the surprising plot twists of life, marriage helps us along the path to the kind of love God offers and wants to inspire in us.
Paul, who never even married, made this observation: “He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body… (Eph. 5:28-29 NIV).”
The real hero of Valentine’s Day, of course, is Saint Valentine, a priest or bishop who also likely never married. The little history we know of him suggests that he gave up his life because he believed in Christian marriage. One wonders, who would do that? Who would die for marriage but not even be able to enjoy even the best taste of it? A definite plot twist! Don’t you feel the mystery? That fragile bonds between fragile men and women should become strong and unbreakable in God’s own hands? It is our mysterious God’s pleasure to confound the wise and mighty with foolish and weak things (1 Cor. 1:27 KVJ).
PRAYER: Thank you, God, for the Saint Valentines of the world, the kind who love the one-flesh bond enough to sacrifice for it. I’ve known a few of those people myself – the kind who prayed and coached and mourned and celebrated me through all the plot twists and turns – through the mystery to a better me. Duh! Why didn’t I see that coming?
Dear Reader,
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ABOUT ME:
Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.
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