Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Husband and Wife (08/08/14)
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TITLE: One Flesh? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Sharon Johnson
08/14/14 -
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But really? One flesh? One flesh! The minister says it, the couple receives it, and the wedding guests are likely awed by it. But have we, as believers, really stopped to understand what that means? Could it really be that in one instant, with the seal of the final kiss, the couple floats back up the aisle, bursts forth through the doors of the church, and faces the world, not as two separate entities but now as one? In a perfect world, perhaps, but in the real, everyday world, maybe not. But then again maybe…
Certainly, we all know that the “honeymoon phase” into which the couple immediately enters, is excitingly blissful, filled with hand-in-hand walks along the beach, visits to friends and family for the first time as “Mr. & Mrs." and early-morning looks of wonder as one spouse gazes lovingly upon the other, still peacefully asleep on the other side of the bed. But we also know too well of the couples who have been married for however many years and look upon such “honeymooners” with a bit of scorn and skepticism, yet who secretly wish they could relive those passionate feelings of mutual admiration.
So, is the one flesh concept, then, something that does start immediately but soon fades as spouses independently recognize they really only wanted “for better…for richer…in health”? Are couples so caught up in the excitement of the wedding day that they overlook the full promises to which they committed!
As believers, we often see and hear scriptural references to weddings. There is the parable of the wedding feast, and the miracle performed at the wedding in Cana. The Church is also referred to throughout the Bible as the Bride of Christ. Could it be that with the repetition of this theme, God wants believers to take note, going beyond the feelings experienced during the lavish celebration in order to delve deeper? Perhaps so.
So let’s think back to when we began our relationships with God—not just when we started going to church--but the day we felt a personal relationship. Think of that as a blessed Wedding Day with God, maybe even as the start of the one flesh relationship with Him. At that point, many Christians enter a honeymoon phase with God. They spend time with Him walking hand-in-hand, introduce themselves to family and friends as “God and me”, and gaze upon Him with looks of wonder as if they can’t believe He chose them.
But inevitably, because believers are still human, after all, they fall out of that phase. Sometimes maybe because of the busyness of life that keeps them too frazzled to take a few minutes to say good morning to Him or maybe sometimes even because they experience tragedy and, alone and bewildered, wonder how a God who says He loves them could allow bad things to happen.
God, though, always keeps His part of the one flesh relationship. He promises to never leave His children nor forsake them, to uphold them with His righteous hand, and to be with them until the end of the age. And indeed, God’s promises are true!
So since believers, and especially married couples, are intended to be an earthly representation of God’s heavenly love for the Church, let us understand that the one flesh bond does indeed start immediately, and continues forever, especially in times of difficulty and challenge! So when spouses experience the “for worse…for poorer…in sickness,” they can and should still look upon each other with the same love the heavenly Father shows to us all. Let spouses never leave nor forsake each other. Let them uphold each other when they are downtrodden at work, smothering under the burdens of parenthood, or stuck in the mud of midlife crisis. Let them resolve to remain with their spouses until the end of the age--well, at least until death do they part. Ahhhh, one flesh--what a wonderful happily ever after!
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You let us have our own thoughts but you lead us along.
This was a good way to write about this.
Well done.
God bless~
The sad part about many marriages is that the couples do not make it through, together, to the end.
Also, the Church is plagued with the the same sad challenges.
One difference, There is a wedding, there is a relationship that needs nurturing and commitment, and there will be a happy ending.
Many Christians find themselves yoked with an assembly that has many issues. All you have to do is read Paul's letters, and Revelation to see that many will not make it.
Let us all pray and work hard to make sure that our heart and love is for the Lord and that we will be at united with our spouse for ever in that bridal suite called heaven.
God bless~