As Christ loved the Church #2

Last time I offered reasons why husbands and wives experience disunity while seemingly 'serving the Lord.'  Anyone can dispute that their covenant relationship is less important than 'The lost' but the facts about God as revealed through His word do not bear this out.

In the beginning Adam was made in the image of God.  This was Male and Female in one being until the Female 'side' (not rib... tut) was taken out.  This being the case 'the two become one' in the union of marriage.  The picture here is that a couple represent the image of God to raise a family.  If someone embarks upon marriage and the wife is just the one who aids their calling we would be mistaken.

The Marriage IS the calling!

It seems clear to me that Godly families, sourced in the risen Lord, comes before any sending from the Lord.  So, ipso-facto, if your marriage is seeing continual unresolved strain you should examine if you are actually called by God to do what you are doing.  Here is a list of reasons people feel called of God but aren't:

• The Pastor thinks I'm good at it
• I feed from the attention, adoration and applause
• I need to be needed
• I have qualifications
• I need to be in charge
• I have to be in control
• A bunch of men laid hands on me
• I'm on the Pastor production line
• 'The done thing'
• Jesus sent me 2000 years ago while speaking to 11 Jews
• People say I make sense when I speak
• I'm a good communicator
• I understand the Bible
• I haven't realized my ego often dresses up like Jesus

I know this is brutal but we need to be shaken from the assumption that we are 'in something' that somehow 'flows' yet has none of the biblical markers that say 'sent.' 

While some of the above list can be components in a genuine calling and sending from God, a sending from God is outlined in many examples in the Bible.  It has a core element that cannot be produced by a Senior minister taking on a promising leader under his wing.  It has authenticity when Jesus can accost the heart on every level.  It is Him who does this and He doesn't need a Man to do it.  This is not to say men / women will not be involved, but the initiative must be the Lords'.

So the difficult part of this is that many have taken part in programs yet are not sent by God.  The answer to this is to prayerfully get before the Lord and begin the painful walk of re-calibrating yourself to His will and ways.  The first step to this is to make your marriage a priority.  The church at Ephesus lost their first love because they got too busy.

Many are at risk of losing their second love as well.

Gary Ward