Jesus Died to Save Your Marriage - By Daniel P Robertson
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10, NASB)
Jesus came to the Earth to fulfill a very specific purpose, which was to restore us to a right relationship with God. In order to accomplish this, it was necessary for Him to die on the cross, taking our sins upon Himself and bearing God's wrath against us. Having done this, the Justice of God was satisfied and the way was open for us to return to Him with a clean conscience.
Yet Jesus didn't come just to redeem us, he came to save all of that which was lost in the Fall of Man. There was much more lost than just a right standing with God. Our whole world was broken. God cursed the very ground so that we would have to work to eat. Our relationships with others were instantly tarnished as well. Adam and Eve could not relate to each other in the same way ever again. The very concept of marriage was ruined.
God's original design for marriage is for a man and woman to come together as partners, serving one another and working together to fulfill God's purpose. Now most marriages are entered into with selfish motives. I want someone to share my life with. I want to have my (emotional/physical/security/sexual/social) needs met. And the second those needs aren't being satisfied, I'm gone!
Jesus came to set things right.
Jesus Promised an Abundant Life - And that Includes Your Marriage!
In Luke 10:10 Jesus tells us another reason He came to the Earth, which is to enable us to live an abundant life. Some translations use the word "overflowing" to illustrate this concept. As Christians we have a God who loves us and desires for us to live a rich, joy filled life. Mediocrity is not God's intent for us.
This applies to all areas of life, including your marriage. If you are just getting by in your relationship with your spouse then you are missing out on God's full design for you. Yet so many of us have mediocre marriages that leave a lot to be desired.
Maybe you have an emotionally distant husband who just doesn't know how to relate to you. Maybe you have children that make it difficult to spend quality time together as a couple. Or maybe you are just cruising along without much purpose or drive to your marriage. These are common problems that nearly every marriage faces at some point.
If God has more in store for us how do we actually experience His promises for abundance?
Unlocking God's Restoring Power For Your Marriage
If you want to experience all that God has for your marriage you need to understand how to apply Biblical truth to experience the freedom that He promises. In order to better understand this, we can take a look at the context of what is happening just before Jesus makes his statement (quoted above) in Luke 19:10.
If we start from the beginning of the chapter we can see that Jesus was speaking to Zacchaeus. Aside from being infamous for his short stature and tree climbing abilities, Zacchaeus was a tax collector. As such, we can assume that he was corrupt, probably taking extra money from people and pocketing it for himself. This can be confirmed by the crowd's negative reaction when Jesus invited Himself over for supper.
At this point, Zacchaeus quickly makes the decision that he will sell half of his possessions for the poor and will make things right with anyone he's defrauded. After that, Jesus calls him a son of Abraham and tells everyone that He has come to save the lost.
I think the lesson here is that God looks favorably on those who turn away from their sin and turn towards righteousness instead. In other words, He desires repentance.
If you want God to restore your marriage, the best course of action you can take is repent of any wrongdoing on your part and be obedient to God's Word. You can't change your spouse. Only God can do that. But I have seen time and time again the power that humility, repentance, and obedience has to change things.
God can heal any marriage, but it starts with you submitting yourself to Him. Not with you trying to fix your spouse.
Daniel writes about Christian marriages and the struggles Christian couples face. If you want to have a healthier, stronger marriage that is grounded in Biblical Truth you can learn about a number of Christian marriage resources from his website. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_P_Robertson Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6961358
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