NURTURing MARRIAGE & REGAIN INTIMACY Pt2
Aside from prayer, important
concepts that are keys to marriage empowerment are “intimacy, commitment,
wisdom's directives, reality, God's sovereignty, the person, sexuality,
communication and companionship"[1] All
of these concepts work as goals to help strengthen a marital relationship. There
are so many misperceptions and erroneous concepts about what it intimacy and
marriage is, and what it entail thus, creating many couples to lose their way
and stray away building a strong marriage. One of the main concepts lost in many
marriages is the oneness by “entering a covering” together with the same level
of commitment and respect for each other and God’s design of marriage.[2]
The other
external force that divides marriages, which is “God’s design” so oneness is
not achieved is the enemy.[3] He despises God’s plan and develops wedges to
separate husband and wives such as he did in the Garden of Eden between Adam
and Eve. Satan’s mission is to destroy and God’s mission is to bring
restoration and reconciliation. Cited in the text, and according to the United
States Census Bureau, “one half of all American couples will eventually
divorce, and 55 percent of all second marriages will end in divorce."[4]
The text
suggests that God created males and females to “function as a team” to
experience creation and fulfill God’s plan on Earth.[5] Married couples have to
work at cooperating in order to save or strengthen their marriage. By
cooperating, both husband and wife must do their individual and collective duty
to enhance their relationship through reading God’s word, praying, being
committed, and following biblical wisdom.
Just as God
created a way of redemption through His plan of salvation in Christ, He also empowers
us to remove the wedge of sin that enemy created through Christ. Christ in this
case is referred to as “Christ, the wedge remover.”[1] Christ restores and mends broken relationships. Because
of Satan’s wedge, the lack of unity and oneness is lost in marriages. Therefore,
there are more unbalances in marriages today because of Satan’s plan. Adam
begins to rule over Eve instead of seeing her as his suitable equal take
dominion, communicate with, replenish and multiply the earth.
Some of these
unbalances in a married couples’ relationship stem from various teachings and beliefs
about where they should take directives from. These various teachings are
derived from secularism that teaches philosophies contrary or partial to
Christianity by deleting God (taking Him out of the picture), and the Holy
Spirit’s guidance from their marriage.
Secularists tend to focus on the ‘self.’
While it is true that Christians have borrowed from other disciplines such as
psychology and other religious practices to integrate into family foundations
or structures, and incorporated into Christian marital counseling and exercises,
it is God who helps couples to “work all things out for the good” in His
children as they rely on His divine wisdom and sovereignty.[2] “Biblical reality” suffices as a powerful tool for
couples seeking to enrich their relationship.[3]
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