Complement: A 5-Day Devo for MenSample

DAY 5 - On Mission Together 

A good painting gives you a glimpse into the artist’s heart, not just the subject he or she is painting. And when you gaze with delight on a great painting, you can understand the artist more, and be inspired by how much beauty there truly is in the world.

I want you to know today, that this is what God has in mind for your marriage. Your marriage has the uncanny and unique ability to be a living painting that the world gets to look at with delight. And when people look at it, they are meant to see just how good God is. 

This is the reality of marriage that we don’t typically think about. Too often we only highlight marriage as a commitment—rings on fingers, vows confessed, promises made. And while marriage contains an essence of commitment, it’s not simply an agreement between two willing parties.

Other times, marriage is only viewed as something archaic, something for an older generation, something too idealistic, not attainable in today’s context.

Perhaps the most common view of marriage is that it primarily benefits the couple, and no one else. We often idolize marriage into being the most epic thing any human can enjoy. That picture of marriage is couple-centric; it doesn’t leave room for how life-giving marriage should be to those around the couple.

I want you to see that marriage is much more profoundly purposeful than any of those misconceptions. Marriage is a living portrait God has painted to show the world his goodness.

Simply put, marriage is mission. Its purpose is to show the world God’s covenantal, unbreakable, unstoppable, unending love. That is the nature of marriage, and it’s the purpose of every marriage—yours and mine.

God, the masterful artist, takes a blank canvas, then through your story and your spouse’s story, puts Himself on display—much like a treasured painting on display in a museum. It’s not only there for every onlooker to enjoy, but to give a glimpse into the heart of the painter.

Your marriage is meant to be one of your greatest forms of mission to the world around you.

Let me tell you how this unfolds for Jamie and me.

We love having people around us. We love hospitality. Having people in our home is one of our favorite things. To look around our dining room table and see 15 people laughing, talking, and eating good food absolutely thrills us. 

Our marriage has become one of our greatest forms of ministry.

You know, Jamie and I have two very different jobs. She’s a podcaster, runs a company, and uses words to preach the good news of Jesus all over the world. I am a pastor, I lead and develop creative people, and use songs and melodies to preach the good news of Jesus all over the world. People often ask us, how do you do two totally different jobs or ministries and stay unified? It always catches us off guard a little bit. 

Honestly, we don't have two totally different ministries. Sure, we have different careers—as I’m sure you and your spouse fill your days with very different activities. But Jamie and I have always had ONE mission. Our mission is simple: Love God, and tell everyone we can how good He is.

And how do we find ourselves doing that? By showing up. Showing up to anything and everything that is in front of us. With the mess, with the chaos, with honesty, and with a confidence in this: Our marriage is meant to be a living picture to the world around us that God is good.

See, you don’t have to have a perfect marriage to do that. We don’t! Because when people see your flaws and your failures, if you’re living on mission, they end up seeing God, not you. They see a couple that isn’t perfect, but still surrenders themselves to God. They see God using brokenness for good things. The painting communicates, wow, God loves flawed people.

Paintings are never perfect. But, the best ones, the most stunning ones are honest. 

I want you to hear today, that your marriage is bigger than you. It’s meant for more than you. It’s meant to be used as a powerful way of communicating to the world just how good God is. Your marriage is meant to put on display the gospel.

Discuss with your spouse:

• How does your marriage reflect God to others? 
• What is the mission of your marriage? 

We hope this plan encouraged you. Learn more at aaronandjamieivey.com