More on the family. Marraige is honorable.

Marriage is instituted by God, and biblically understood it is one of the most glorious pictures of the gospel given to us; the picture of Christ being married to us. Of course if marriage is abused, as it often is, it presents a false gospel to us and our children.  So…are you happy and thankful in your marriage?!  We are glad that Christ is happy and thankful to have us as his wife  

        

Notice Hebrews 13:4.  First, this verse is in the context of the gospel. Because we who have come to Mt. Zion, and to Jesus, and the New Covenant, and to the Kingdom of God (Heb 12:22-28), we have our thinking set straight…including how we look at marriage, including specifically our marriage.  Scripture says let marriage be held in high honour, as precious, as greatly prized. 

Marriage is an honorable state before God, and as we honour it in faith even the marriage bed does not make it dishonorable!

In your family life, remember who you are in Christ Jesus.

Family life comes to us everyday.  As believers we are to live life remembering we are in Christ, well in your family life and activities remember who you are in Christ.  Doug Wilson wrote: “All Christian living, including what we call family is based on being before doing…grace.   The perennial temptation is to try to scrap our way into being in Christ by doing (works).  But grace in the Spirit reverses this order.  Grace makes us Christians, and grace gets more doing done than doing does.  In the gospel God works in us both to will and do for his good pleasure ^{(Phil 2:12-13)}.  The gracious Spirit filled Christian does not refuse to do family, he just doesn’t try to work it in for self-righteousness or self-comforts sake. We don’t earn reflecting Christ’s relationship in our marriages, we don’t earn the salvation of our kids, or good behaved children…God gives them to us by grace. 

So fear the Lord and ask him what is needed in your family.  Pray. Ask him for the gift of a good marriage, for the grace to be a godly dad & mom, and for the grace to love your particular family with all its warts!