"[Marriage] is a momentary gift. It
may last a lifetime, or it may be snatched away on the honeymoon. Either way,
it is short. It may have many bright days, or it may be covered with clouds. If
we make secondary things[1] primary,
we will be embittered at the sorrows we must face. But if we set our face
to make of marriage mainly what God designed it to be, no sorrows and no calamities
can stand in our way. Everyone one of them will be, not an obstacle to success,
but a way to succeed. The beauty of the covenant-keeping love between Christ
and His church shines brighter when nothing but Christ can sustain it.
Very soon the shadow will give way to the
Reality. The partial will pass into the Perfect. The foretaste will lead to the
Banquet. The troubled path will end in Paradise. A hundred candle-lit evenings
will come to their consummation in the marriage supper of the Lamb. And this
momentary marriage will be swallowed up by Life. Christ will be all in all. And
the purpose of marriage will be complete.
To that end may God give us eyes to see
what matters most in this life. May the Holy Spirit, whom He sends, make His
crucified and risen Son the supreme Treasure of our lives. And may that
Treasure so satisfy our souls that the root of every marriage-destroying
impulse is severed. And may the marriage-watching world be captivated by the
covenant keeping love of Christ.”[2]
[1] Thing such as sexual fulfillment, personal happiness, children,
societal blessing, etc. All which are good but are secondary to God’s glory.
[2] Piper, John. This Momentary
Marriage. Crossway, Illinois: 2009.
