Marriage

A marriage is an exchange of a cross or many crosses throughout one’s married life. The cross is the spouse and the crosses are either the spouse’s family members or neighbors, relatives, friends and acquaintances that keep entering into your life on and off.

Adjustments and compromises in a marriage often lead to arguments, expectations, irritations and hidden desires of separation.

When married person prays to God for grace to accept one’s life partner as he or she is and also to accept the spouse’s family as they are, then the marriage, over a period of time, becomes a bed of roses notwithstanding the thorns that try to stifle the growth in one’s married life.

When a wedding ring is exchanged at the altar in the presence of God and many witnesses, it is a symbolic gesture of an invisible cross being exchanged with a promise to carry it always – in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health till death alone separates. It is, thus, true that marriages are made in heaven, but they are solemnized, celebrated and lived here on earth only through God’s grace.

An Enormous Answer

John Dunne writes of the impact of the resurrection upon humankind: "The Resurrection is an enormous answer to the problem of death. The idea is that the Christian goes with Christ through death to everlasting life. Death becomes an event, like birth, that is lived through."

What a magnificent statement of faith. Death is merely another event in the ongoing process of life--something one lives through with Christ. The resurrection of Jesus reinforces these words from The Wisdom of Solomon: "The souls of the just are in God's hand, and torment shall not touch them...they are at peace."

Ephesians 6:24

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

Thoughts on This Verse....

Ephesians makes some of the greatest declarations in the entire Bible about the grace of God. This one, however, may be the very richest. Grace is offered to us whether we accept it or not. But, grace is with us in rich abundance and blessing as we love Jesus and hang on to his love with a grip of faith that is unwavering.