Marriage as Mission!

I was recently reading a Gospel Coalition blogpost from which the quote below was taken.... and in the midst of the threats to, breakdown of and redefining of marriage in the 'Western' world today, I was encouraged to look at the opportunities to 'proclaim and live the truth in Jesus name' (as singer Steve Green says in his song 'the Mission' ) in the context of marriage,  and at the same time I recalled a real life situation where the truth of this quote occurred.....

Well here is the quote:

"...Christian marriage reflects God as husbands love their wives "as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word" (Eph. 5:25).

Few children today will grow up and see this love in action. Nearly half have parents who aren't even married. So we cannot be surprised they have little idea what marriage should be. Yet we respond with hope that when they meet a Christian couple, they see the difference and hear the hope of the gospel. Broken homes are a mission field. They call us first to compassion, not judgment."

At this time in our world it is so easy for Christians who still believe in the Bible's definition of marriage being faithful lifelong union between one man and one woman, to feel beaten into a corner or attacked from every side or losing grip on a fight for real marriage.  But I am challenged that once again, it is also an opportunity for Christians to not be ashamed or reluctant to be open about their support for real Biblical marriage.  It is so easy for us to get a victim mentality of 'poor us' who are being persecuted for righteousness sake.  Instead we should be having a 'great commission' mentality of 'here's another opportunity to be instruments in the Lord's hands as our strength and redeemer and light of the world'.  

Instead of bemoaning that the world is getting darker, lets be more proactive in making sure the light of Christ is shining into that darkness.  We are busy so often hiding our light under a bushel and hoping the world will stumble upon us and join us where we have the light....instead of taking that light to the world around us.

Even here in Botswana, we didn't come with the mandate to model Christian marriage....BUT...the reality that we were anyway, was brought home to us when a girl who we had first met when she was in early high school, some years later was interviewed on radio and much to our surprise, named us personally as the ones who had shown her how to have a Christian marriage since her parents' marriage  had broken down when she was a young girl.  She herself, is now married and the mother of a lovely one year old boy.

That incident was a strong reminder that young people around us from broken homes need to see and interact with homes where the Biblical standard of marriage is functioning.  Though never perfect, they need to see lived out in front of them what it means to be a godly husband, godly wife, and also a godly father (since most 1 parent homes have a mother present but no father present).  They need to see loving headship and loving submission, they need to see couples where there is a desire and hard work to have a God glorifying marriage, they need to see that although filled with lows as well as highs that are inevitable when two sinners say 'I do', that marriage as God intended is not a yoke to bear or endure or avoid, but is meant to be the most rich and rewarding relationship on this earth....and a picture of Christ and the Church.

Whether its Botswana or Australia or the UK or the USA, I am reminded that I. and every married Christian, need to not only live toward their spouse in a God honouring way, but also needs to take up the challenge to live their marriage toward our world in a God honouring way, as a wonderful opportunity of sharing Christ to a watching world.