Fierce Marriage By Ryan And Selena FrederickSample

Revolutionary Marriage

What difference does it make to realize that your marriage has eternal purpose? First, every happy and enjoyable moment in your life together is amplified in light of God’s never-ending goodness and grace. Every good thing is infinitely better when the glory goes to God, and the same is certainly true of marriage! 

Also, so much of life can feel like a daily grind. For every marriage mountaintop, there are dozens of valleys and hundreds of miles of meandering trail in the foothills. The gospel is the compass that keeps our marriage on a steady course through the most monotonous lulls and the trickiest traverses. 

Selena and I have said it many times: if it wasn’t for Jesus, we would have been divorced years ago. Why would we say that? Because at times giving up would have been so easy—or so we felt. 

Without the call to covenant, we could never have worked through communication issues that seemed to last forever. Even more than the strength to endure difficulty, the gospel affords us unmatched joy while doing so! How? Because our hope is eternal and this story we’re part of is not about us. It’s about Jesus. Every aspect of your marriage is designed by God for his eternal glory and your ultimate joy. Through the gospel—the good news that Christ saves—your marriage has infinite power and purpose because it points to an infinite, powerful God. 

Every time you love your spouse when it’s hard, you reflect the unrelenting love of God in Christ. Every time you uphold your covenant despite wanting to give up, you mirror God’s unfailing promise to redeem his people. And every time you enjoy oneness and unity in intimacy, you foreshadow the unity and oneness that God’s people—the Bride—will experience with Jesus—the Bridegroom—in heaven. 

That is why we’ll continue to sound the trumpet of the gospel for marriage. Only in the gospel do you have purpose beyond now, beyond you, and beyond measure. In Christ alone, by grace alone, and through faith alone, you have access to the infinite goodness of the eternal God both in this life and the next. Everything about marriage points to the gospel, and by God’s grace your marriage can do the same. 

When have you seen the difference it makes for a marriage to have eternal purpose? What difference could it make to see your marriage this way? In light of the gospel, what are one or two purposes your marriage serves?