Finding Contentment as a Military WifeSýnishorn

Living a Marriage of Reconciliation

What is the actual purpose of marriage? What’s the point, the big picture behind why He created man and woman to engage in marriage? Just as each of the sixty-six books of the Bible points us to Jesus, so does marriage.

More than anything, our marriages are to reflect the gospel—a boots-on-the-ground visual of what it looks like to be sacrificially loved and forgiven even when we mess up. God wants each of our unions to look different from the world’s picture of marriage. For example, the world says to look out for yourself. But God says to look out for your spouse. It’s an entirely different way to do marriage. Paul explains this for us in Ephesians 5:22–32 when he tells believers a husband is supposed to represent Christ, loving his wife unconditionally and sacrificially for her benefit, and a wife is to symbolize the church, submitting herself to the loving care of her husband and, by extension, God, who looks out for her best interests.

The most important way we can reflect the love of Christ to the world through our marriages is by living a marriage of reconciliation. In this type of marriage, people recognize that significant others are sinful human beings who will fail them from time to time and sin daily. The failures and faults of our partners provide endless opportunities for us to practice forgiveness, patience, and love. Just as God does with us, when we repeatedly mess up.

When you live a marriage of reconciliation, you continually seek restoration with your spouse, and this regular pursuit helps show others the love of the Father. It’s a real-world picture of the grace and mercy God offers through His Son’s sacrifice on the cross, forgiving us when we don’t deserve it, because He loves us. Is that a common practice in your marriage—regularly forgiving your spouse when he doesn’t deserve it?

Tomorrow, we’ll look at how marriage moves us to greater sanctification.