Marriage is not a fifty-fifty proposition, not if we want it to be successful. If each person gives fifty percent, that adds up to a full one hundred, but it’s also a divorce in the making.
In a good marriage, both people give one hundred percent. Both people. It’s give-and-take, listening to each other, and being aware of each other’s needs. It’s not just getting along, but rather, we become immersed in each other’s life.
Our relationship with Christ is very much the same. In the beginning, God gave us everything. Then, at the cross, he did the same once again, offering his Son. He continues to do so today, in the blessings and care he showers on his children.
Genesis 1:26 tells his proposal to his forthcoming bride:
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ ”
Genesis 1:27 is his first gift unto his new creation:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1:28 reveals his ongoing love affair with mankind:
“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ ”
Remember, however, that a good marriage flows from both sides. One partner can’t take and take. Both have to participate in the relationship.
John 4:24 tells us what God expects in return:
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God wants our attention. He needs us to acknowledge him in our thoughts and actions. He wishes for us to consider him when we rise in the morning, to be aware of what he’s done for us, and to express our gratitude unto him.
It’s a marriage thing, each participant giving one hundred percent. It’s vital to a successful marriage between a man and a woman. It’s even more important if we want to follow after God and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
When we immerse ourselves in God, following Christ becomes an easy thing to do.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.C.27.16.vp.esv