Reclaiming the Heart of Marriage

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…”

These words are as familiar to us as “Once upon a time …”— and,
unfortunately, sometimes as insignificant. Many—including some
Christians—consider the Bible’s creation to be a children’s story or a fairy
tale. We rush past the foundation and go straight to the punch line—the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. Yet, the beginning of human history holds far more significance
for our lives today than many realize.

Jesus thought it important. When grilled about the relations between husbands
and wives—specifically divorce—Christ subverted the petty selfishness and
encrusted legalism that had sprung up around marriage by returning to this
ancient truth:

“Haven’t you read … that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male
and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no
longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together let man not
separate”
(Matthew 19:4-6, NIV).

But Jesus’ questioners persisted:

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a
certificate of divorce and send her away?”
(Matthew 19:7,
NIV)

His reply illuminates that old creation story with a power and life. He
said:

“Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.
But it was not this way in the beginning”
(Matthew 19:8,
NIV)

Jesus wasn’t making a casual statement about the fallen world. He was
directing us to meditate on God’s design for humanity in the beginning—the
design that was twisted and shattered when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden.

God said:

Let us make man in our image, in our likeness …

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

Male and female he created them (Genesis 1:26,27,
NIV)

How often have husbands and wives considered the truth that each bears the
image and likeness of God? More important, how many realize they reflect God’s
image and likeness at least as much, if not more in their one-flesh union than
each does separately?

By pointing us back to the beginning, Jesus wanted us to understand this
vital revelation: God created humans for intimate unions that model the intimate
union shared by members of the Triune God. He said, “Let US make man in OUR
image and likeness.” God’s great gift to His children was the ability to share
in the divine love existing before time.

Perhaps this is not the character of your marriage. Your one-flesh union may
have been ravaged by infidelity, pornography use, illness, bitterness,
selfishness, neglect, or abuse. You may love your spouse but also feel, at
times, like strangling him. Separation may seem like the only available option.
Or, maybe the kids are gone and you find an empty marriage to match your empty
house.

Life is hard. Some have called it a “vale of tears.” When Adam and Eve
sinned, they endured “painful toil” working the cursed ground of “thorns and
thistles” (Genesis 3:17-19, NIV). Our hearts have also suffered the devastation
of the Fall. We daily battle the thorns and thistles—pride, bitterness, lust,
greed, envy—that threaten to choke our fragile stirrings of love.

This makes marriage difficult. We often see our spouse as the enemy, rather
than an extension of ourselves. Our one-flesh union may be lacking all
emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects and be relegated to quick couplings
born of frustration or desperation. And we wonder where God is in all of
this.

After directing us back to the beginning, Jesus provided a way for us to
return to God’s design for our lives and marriages. He finished His atonement
for our sins on the cross and promised a new life in Him. The Bible teaches that
if we have been baptized into His death, we are also baptized into His new life
(Romans 6:3-4, NIV). This is our hope and His promise. The life God gives is one
restored, redeemed, and transformed.

This is not some hyper-spiritualized pipe dream. God calls us to a renewed
life, but it still takes patience, sacrifice, discipline, and compassion. But
God is with us every step of the way, working through His Spirit to restore
everything that has been damaged. Listen for God’s call to this transformed life
and hold tight to the promise of the One who said, “Behold, I am making all
things new.”