Marriage from a ‘Christ Perspective’ - Part 5

(Matt. 15:8 - 9) – “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.”

Recently, I was talking with a co-worker of mine and we were lamenting over how many of our couples, in therapy, admit to very troubling life patterns of infidelity, abusive language, and abusive behavior, yet also talk about how their Christian faith is very important to them. I have had professed Christian pastors that have admitted to active affairs with no plans of breaking off the relationship. We (my co-worker and I) struggle with how many people profess to be active in a faith that they are actively undermining with their actions and choices.

Though all of us are sinners and often fail to live up to God’s command of charity, our faith calls us to desire and strive for a Christ-like life. We need to not allow ourselves to grow comfortable with or even justify our bad habits and destructive desires. Marriage is a perfect avenue for living out our Christian vocation. Marriage is a beautiful gift that is filled with God’s grace to help us in becoming better through self-giving, self-sacrifice, and self-improvement.

So many of us can quote scripture, but how many of us daily try to live out what it speaks? So many of us can say we believe in and know about God, but how many of us truly take time to know God and his Will for us? We can say we love our spouse, but how many of us show it though our actions and our daily choices? How many of us practice what we preach?    

ACTION STEP: This week, take time to live out your faith in the way you love and serve your spouse.