When my husband and I did our premarital counseling it was recommended that we make a habit of praying and reading the Bible together for our first year of marriage. The wonderful part about that habit, is that you are inviting the Lord into your home, family and decisions. You invite him into your conversations, your movie selections, your time management and your attitude towards one another. When I am mad at my husband, I don’t call my girlfriends who will always choose my side! I call on Jesus, who is on both sides and his aim is to make our marriage as harmonious as possible. I know that he will convict and challenge me just as much as he will my husband, and when we come together we both usually have things to apologize for that God convicted us about. We quickly realized that Jesus was the third member of our marriage and we could not make any major decisions without his leading.
When reading much of the Old Testament, the relationship between God and his people can become confusing. What most people forget is that God wanted a marriage with his people. He was so passionate about being in a relationship with his people, that it grieved his heart when they turned their backs on him. Every moment of wrath was intended to restore the marriage and turn them to repentance and every moment of restoration was to prove his love and faithfulness.
In Ezekiel 36, the Lord is declaring his wrath on all the nations that have mistreated his bride, Israel. He doesn’t do it for their sake or because they deserved it (vs. 22), he did it because he had a point to prove: That he was holy and faithful. No one was going to trample over his people! He not only was going to punish the guilty nations, but he was going to bless the Israelites more than he ever had! He was going to gather them back to their land, cleanse them, forgive them, bless them with and abundance of crops, rebuild their ruins, give them a new heart that will enable them to follow his decrees, and bless them with numerous descendants. What a beautiful love story of complete forgiveness, redemption and blessing! To me, it is a story of a protective, merciful and loving husband who is taking his bride back!
Last night my husband and I were sitting on the couch and God showed up! (He didn’t show up in the flesh but we felt His presence come right in the middle of a conversation we were having.) We were talking about how grateful we are, and all of a sudden we sat with tears in our eyes knowing that the third member of our marriage was near. We may not be able to tangibly see him, but he is the glue that holds our marriage and family together. Our love story was written by him, and we will continue to allow him to be the author.
When we are making a decision we usually call the person who will agree with what we already want to do. Many times we intentionally don’t go to God because we already know what He will say, and we don’t want to hear it! But that is not a marriage! God is not as concerned with the martial status box you check as he is with your marital status with Him. What about your life? Is he the third member, the other member or have you left him waiting at the alter?
Thanks for reading and responding,
Melissa Miller
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