Married to Christ

I have been thinking about this idea lately. When you think about the Christian life and the life long process of change, what are the key ingredients for change and growth to happen? Once you make the commitment to make Jesus the leader of your life and the forgiver of your sins, how do you keep growing in the commitment?

Some might say doing devotions daily, Bible Study, going to church, reading good Christian books. Others would argue that being in a small group or serving at your church are keys. Others might say that taking communion, getting baptized, sharing your faith or going to confession might be keys. All of theses things are good, and helpful, but if these things could change us by themselves, Jesus would not have needed to come.

All of those activities are ways we recognize our need for Christ. It helps us realize we are dependant on Him. They are ways to connect with Christ, but they are not the keys to change and growth.

In 2 Corinthians 11:1-3, Paul is talking to the Corinthians and us about being married to Christ. He uses marriage as a metaphor to explain how our relationship with Christ should be. He speaks of Christ as the “husband” and the people as “pure virgins”. In verse 3 he talks about his concern that they/we will fall prey to “false lovers”.

If you think about your relationship with Jesus as being one of marriage, it can change your perspective. In marriage you are concerned with pleasing each other and caring for each other. You want to build a close intimate relatiosnhip, share your hopes and dreams together. A marriage will always struggle if there are other things that come before that relationship. If your job, money, friends, family, children or church become more important than your relationship with your spouse, that marriage will suffer.

It is the same way with Christ. If we put other things and relationships in front of our relationship with Christ it will suffer. We will not be very close to Him. In marriage, remaining faithful is a key to staying married. Paul was concerned that we would not remain faithful to Christ, but be distracted by these false lovers. Like any other marriage, the big issue is my commitment to fidelity. Will I remain faithful to Jesus alone, and not seek fulfillment elsewhere?

For Paul, the Christian life was more than having daily devotions, giving money or even serving in ministry. You can do all of those things without Christ at the center of your life. For Paul, the heartbeat of being a Christian was to remain faithful to Christ in a world where many would be lovers are after our attention.

When we fully understand this truth of being married to Christ, it will change the way we respond to life situations. It will change the way we look at our relationships, our jobs, our money and our time. Whether you are single or married, you need to understand that your relationship with Jesus Christ should be very personal and intimate, because we are married to Him.

Because we are married to Him we have all kinds of benefits. We have married into an incredible family, super rich, very powerful, full of love and respect. Everything we could ever need physically, emotionally or spiritually has been provided by Christ. Read Colossians 1:15-23 to see the person you are married to. What an amazing person.

The key to change and growth rest on my relatiosnhip with a person, Christ, who acts on my behalf. Having that perspective helps us grow and change.

2 Replies to “Married to Christ”

  1. Chad – great blogs! Why does no one comment on them! Facebook has been a Godsent to catch up with so many people and see how powerfully God is using so many of us!!!! Good to catch up with you and Yes and Amen to what you are discovering in minstry and sharing with all of us who need to embrace, cling to and wear that ring of marriage covenant with Christ! I look forwar to more insight as I mark your blog for regular reading!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.