Marriage is like a globe. The globe is real. You can touch it, spin it, study it, and learn from it. However, the globe is not the end of the conversation. Do you remember the first time someone explained to you that the globe was just a small symbol of something greater? We call it an “Aha Moment.”
The globe allows you to get a picture of something that is too big to see. In the same way, marriage models something for too magnificent to fully comprehend: God’s love for His children.
So God begins giving us a picture of His love for us through the first marriage between Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:24). From that moment on, the Bible continuously compares God’s love to the love of marriage -even using the term “bride” to refer to His church.
Isaiah 62:5 explains, “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” The passion of God’s love for His children is portrayed in an eager groom’s anticipation to see his bride adorned on their wedding day.
Later, in the New Testament, Paul commands husbands to “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). In other words husbands are to be miniature representations of Christ’s infinite love for the Church (like a globe represents the earth).
In Revelation 19:7-8, we find the culmination of the marriage symbol as all believers are gathered in Heaven partaking in the marriage supper of the Lamb. Finally, Christ will be together with His bride in the ultimate celebration of love.
In that moment, I can only imagine that we will realize how every wedding march, every white dress, every groom with tears of joy, every reception, and every cake were pointing us to something bigger -something unimaginable!
So husbands, stop and ponder this “Aha Moment.” The way you treat your wife has heavenly implications. Feel the weight of your responsibility. Every time you honor your wife with a patient answer, you show your neighbors the love of Christ. Every time you open the door for her or shower her with praise, you teach your children about Christ’s character. And every time you affirm your love to her in the midst of disagreements and difficulties, you magnify the unfailing love of Christ to each other and the world.
Challenge: Decide that today you will make every effort to hold up the “marriage globe” for others to see the love of Christ by the way you love your spouse. Maybe you can help them have an “aha moment” too.