Have you ever watched a full programme on Starhub's channel 95: The Biography Channel?
I don't usually. But although I don't religiously stock up knowledge on the life and times of famous people around the world via The Biography Channel, the one time I did, I was mighty encouraged. And whose life story was it, you ask?
The country legend, Dolly Parton.
Now, as many of us know, falling in love isn't too difficult; it's the staying in love that is the hard part. And especially when you're somebody famous, when you've hordes of people clamouring to capture photographs of you, when there are dozens of people attempting to chronicle your life, your life is broadcasted for the world to scrutinize, and that world loves the "juicy bits": the love story. How many celebrities boast a list of ex-lovers, of ex-spouses?
One might subconsciously be moulded to think divorce and breaking off of engagements is normal.
Maybe it is.
But it certainly is not a feature in the life God calls us to live.
See, what made my respect for Dolly Parton increase (and it already was very high) was the fact that she married Carl Dean... And she stayed married to him. They met in the summer of 1964, and were married in May, 1966. And they've been living together as man and wife for 43 years, and are still married! Dolly said, in an interview, that the biggest secret to getting married and staying married were three simple words:
Make it work.
Three simple monosyllabic words that contain more than what any encyclopedia can hold.
It means commitment.
It means perseverence.
It means a heck of a load of effort and resolution.
What God has revealed to me was that this attitude is not only applicable to the institution of marriage between man and wife, but that it is attached to a Christian's relationship to Him. One could even say that it was the intention of God to have human marriage be modelled after, to serve as a practice for, the church's marriage to Him.
When we profess to nurture a relationship with God, to utter our wedding vows to Him, we enter into a sacred relationship with Him. But think not of our wedding day as a "finally!", instead, think of it as an "... and...", an addition, one more "Life Tile" in our "Game of Life"; not the end of the beginning, but the beginning of the end, a glorious end.
Making it work means essentially two very broad things:
To stay together during the bad times...
In Revelation 2: 9-10, the Son of Man had this to say to the church in Smyrna:
"I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life."
And to stay together during the good times.
When the going is good, forget not the author and perfector of your faith, the creator of all that is good. Give unto Him praise of which He is worthy. "Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judements he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!" (1 Chronicles 16: 8-13)
We've all be taught that we ought to persevere in our faith, to make it work. There exist scores of verses and passages in the Bible, various people's life stories, biographies from which we gain insight and knowledge, lives that tell of perseverence and commitment (and also lives that fail to commit), words of warning and encouragement in the faith. A great deal many.
But when the context shifts, when the kaleidoscope turns and we look upon it as though we were lounging on a bed covered with crisp white linen, gazing into the eyes of our Beloved and Lover, it no longer becomes an "ought to". Rather,
we want to.
We want to keep on keeping on.
We want to make it work.
Even when the going gets tough,
even when the going is good.
Because we are in love
with the greatest Lover the world has ever and will ever know.
20091223
Married to God: Making It Work ♥
20091213
Married to God: A Sacred Covenant ♥
God impressed a perspective upon my heart some time ago while I was deep in troubled conversation with Him. Then, I was drifting away from Him, again enticed by the sickeningly sweet temptations of the world and of the flesh. And if I was the girl in the well-known Lifehouse music-sketch, then I too met with the final unholy character who presented and urged me to use the gun of renouncement, of renouncement of my relationship with God. God answered with a simple question:
Did I ever once consider and realise that my relationship with Him was a marriage?
I confess I was startled by that revelation because in truth, I have never ever thought of our relationship in such a manner. Yes, I have conducted and have been part of Bible studies that include the famous passage evoking the image of Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride, but no, the veil was never drawn for me to see the parallel in my life.. until then.
Now, I am not married, and I never was married in the terms of this world. So the amount and type of insight I have is limited, perhaps, to that of an "outsider". But what I write here, I write what the Good Lord has shown me thus far.
(Ideally) nobody enters into a marriage unless they knew what they were getting themselves into. They may not have sufficient foresight to anticipate what specifically lies ahead, both the good times and the troubling ones, but they will at least make sure that they know whom they are marrying.
After countless dates, going someplace special or just hanging out and talking "about yourselves, about your interests, your likes and dislikes" (Disney's Enchanted, 2007), both parties finally gather sufficient information about each other, and upon making sense of their emotions and feelings towards one another, then decide together whether or not to enter into a marriage.
This process of getting-to-know is long and riddled with complications and hurt sometimes. But it is crucial nonetheless because marriage is not something to be taken lightly or to be trifled with.
It is serious and binding and, in the eyes of God, holy.
It is a promise not meant to be broken, for the Lord frowns upon divorce (maybe save one particular circumstance of adultery in Matthew 5:32).
Likewise, we the church, as the lover of the beloved, as the bride of the groom, Christ our Saviour, we must not take our relationship with God lightly. Our professed faith and following is our marriage certificate; we are the wife of Christ our Husband. Gone are the days of restless flitting about and flirting with suitors and idols for we have found the best and the most worthy, one whose wooing we have submitted to and unto whom we have pledged our continued companionship and love.
So enter into this sacred relationship in sober consciousness,
knowing full well what you are doing.
Utter the binding vows with full knowledge and understanding,
knowing your Husband, His character, statutes and works.
And uphold and commit to live out your days in faithful holy matrimony with God.
"Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."
~ Hebrews 13:4
Did I ever once consider and realise that my relationship with Him was a marriage?
I confess I was startled by that revelation because in truth, I have never ever thought of our relationship in such a manner. Yes, I have conducted and have been part of Bible studies that include the famous passage evoking the image of Christ as the bridegroom and the church as the bride, but no, the veil was never drawn for me to see the parallel in my life.. until then.
Now, I am not married, and I never was married in the terms of this world. So the amount and type of insight I have is limited, perhaps, to that of an "outsider". But what I write here, I write what the Good Lord has shown me thus far.
(Ideally) nobody enters into a marriage unless they knew what they were getting themselves into. They may not have sufficient foresight to anticipate what specifically lies ahead, both the good times and the troubling ones, but they will at least make sure that they know whom they are marrying.
After countless dates, going someplace special or just hanging out and talking "about yourselves, about your interests, your likes and dislikes" (Disney's Enchanted, 2007), both parties finally gather sufficient information about each other, and upon making sense of their emotions and feelings towards one another, then decide together whether or not to enter into a marriage.
This process of getting-to-know is long and riddled with complications and hurt sometimes. But it is crucial nonetheless because marriage is not something to be taken lightly or to be trifled with.
It is serious and binding and, in the eyes of God, holy.
It is a promise not meant to be broken, for the Lord frowns upon divorce (maybe save one particular circumstance of adultery in Matthew 5:32).
Likewise, we the church, as the lover of the beloved, as the bride of the groom, Christ our Saviour, we must not take our relationship with God lightly. Our professed faith and following is our marriage certificate; we are the wife of Christ our Husband. Gone are the days of restless flitting about and flirting with suitors and idols for we have found the best and the most worthy, one whose wooing we have submitted to and unto whom we have pledged our continued companionship and love.
So enter into this sacred relationship in sober consciousness,
knowing full well what you are doing.
Utter the binding vows with full knowledge and understanding,
knowing your Husband, His character, statutes and works.
And uphold and commit to live out your days in faithful holy matrimony with God.
"Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."
~ Hebrews 13:4
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