MARRIAGE TROUBLE

The church is described as The Bride of Christ in several different ways in the Bible. For example: John the Baptist wrote about the bridegroom and bride (John 3), Paul an apostle, wrote about Christ and bride in Ephesians 5 and John, an apostle, wrote about the marriage of the Lamb and the bride made ready in Revelation 19 and 21. There are many other scriptures as well.

As I meditated on some of these verses recently, for the first time ever it came to me that what happens in our physical marriages and relationships can also happen in the spiritual marriage. It seems to me that the statistics on marriage and divorce for both physical and spiritual may be about the same. Divorce or separation, conflicts, and disappointments can happen in our relationship with Christ just as they can with a physical mate. I also thought that for probably the same reasons. Spiritual adultery, abandonment, non-provision, addiction, abuse and absenteeism, etc. are the same as in physical marriage that cause divorce and separation. This was prompted by this text: Paul, an apostle, wrote, “I promised you to one husband, to Christ… but I fear, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your simple and whole-hearted devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:2–3)

Marriage trouble is nothing new for the physical or spiritual and both can be almost as dreadful as death. But sometimes both can and are repaired.

“Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Jesus