While this book is divided into six main chapters, reflecting six main pillars of marriage, there are a number of other subjects I cover under each heading, including many of the activities, and the lifestyle that comes with running a Christian home. Some of the subjects which I discuss – often in depth -- beyond those six pillars of marriage are these:
There’s more in there, but that amounts to many of the sub-topics the book delves into. I ask the readers to let themselves be fed by it. Also to let themselves be challenged by it, even if it challenges their worldview, and their deeply held beliefs. Some of it certainly will. Christians are deeply wedded to the world, hooked on materialism, and definitely need their worldview challenged.
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As I say in my book, the BEST thing I ever did before getting married was just decide that I would trust what the Holy Bible teaches on marriage. I didn’t worry about reading any Christian books or going to Christian counselors. I trusted in the Bible as the guidance for our marriage, and have been guided well. We have also been protected from a lot of the nonsense that’s out there in the ministry world. It doesn't touch us at all. God’s Word is TRUTH. Trust in it. The goodness that has come to our family from trusting in the Scriptures I want for you too, in abundance.
***** The other “best” thing I did before marriage was make sure my wife and I were agreed on what marriage is all about. That meant: 1--We both agreed marriage was for life and you simply do not end it. You don’t end it for sin, but you forgive sin and you continue to live with the person. We were agreed adultery does not end a marriage. 2--We were also agreed on the structure of marriage, that there is only one leader – that’s the man – and the wife is to help him and submit to him. There is an unambiguous pillar of authority. 3--We were both agreed that children are always a blessing and that it is good to accept many children from the Lord. 4--We were agreed that the wife should be in the home and raising the children, so when our first child came along, she would quite the part-time job she already had to be home full time. She would educate our children and do the valuable work around the household. 5—We were agreed that “love” is a job, and that we were committed to doing the job of loving each other and our children regardless of what our feelings were. We committed ourselves to the responsibilities of love. I cannot imagine going into marriage without being agreed to and committed to these truths and more. They make a well-functioning vessel and are rooted in the Word of God. God’s way is life, peace, happiness and harmony. It's not a mystery how to have a good home. It's not a great feat. Just walk in God's ways and keep following them. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:10 The comparison about marriage in Holy Scripture – which is both beautiful and realistic at once – is that husband and wife reflect Christ and the Church. Yet there is the other reflection, not of Christ and Church but of Holy Family in heaven: that of Father, Son and Spirit. Husband and wife reflect this, with the children of their love reflecting the Spirit, as He springs forth from Father and Son.
This comparison might not be made explicit in the Bible, but it is much more than theological speculation. That is because of the many passages in John – I am almost at John 17 now with my boy and we have read through much of them – which show the relationship between Father and Son passing down to Christ and His Church. The love which flows to the Son, now flows to His people, the Church. The glory which the Son brings to the Father, the Church now brings to the Son. The obedience the Son shows in doing the Father’s will flows to the Church as it obeys His will. The interpenetration of Father and Son now is mold of the interpenetration of Christ and His Bride. Since this is the explicit teaching, we can see how the same order flows down to the marriage union and the family. Father and Son model Christ and the Church, who model the sacrament of marriage. Husband’s love and life flow to the wife, as the Father's does to the Son. The wife submits to the will of her husband, as the Son does the will of the Father. They honor one another each according to their own role, and know joy in their union. Then children spring forth from their love*, continue to do their will, and make their character known. Divine truth is revealed in marriage, truth about salvation, and about the nature of God. *Love here means that they actively love one another. It does not mean they are filled with overwhelming emotion or look into each other’s eyes constantly and nearly swoon. Love means they give the other what is due, and care zealously for the other’s welfare. Warm emotions may come along with the ride. This is the book description from the back cover of Get Married and Save the World:
Christians today are intimidated by marriage. They put it off for decades. They put off having children. At best they view staying married for life as an ideal, and see marriage more as a temporary contract that can end because of sin or dissatisfaction. To many it sounds like a long, pathetic story about pain. Beyond that, abandonment of the family is at the core of the instability of Christian civilization and its current replacement by Muslim populations. In Get Married and Save the World, your ordinary brother confronts this situation head on. He shares the great truths of marriage as revealed in the Holy Bible, and how we can accomplish them through faith and obedience to God. He explains how each pillar within marriage blesses the community with life and peace and points to the Salvation in Jesus Christ. It is indeed the foundation for a new society. The book’s message is interwoven with abundant practical advice, storytelling and theology. Marriage is joy, healing and life, if we walk in God’s way. This is my first blog post for my author's blog for my marriage book Get Married and Save the World. Also my first blog post ever. I have managed a few other personal websites, but not a blog before. I hope readers will have a chance to learn more about my book, as well as the whole mission of the book, which includes a change of lifestyle for Christians, and developing a hunger for the living in the spirit.
For at the heart of this book about following God in marriage are principles that will aid us in following God elsewhere; those of giving up worldliness, high esteem, pleasurable dreams and expected luxuries for a life that is directed by the Word of God. My message for marriage is not an easy one, and seems radical to many Christians today. However, I believe if you meditate on the same Scriptures I speak of in my book, and that I expound on, you will see the same path before us. Christians must return to the path with marriage and the family. It does not take a theologian or trained counselor to figure this out. We must simply return to God in faith, and perform what His perfect Word tells us to do. That is why I wrote this book. It is an appeal to Christians to obey our Lord in our homes, and despite how shattered the modern home seems, I don't believe that task is beyond us. May you be blessed by this website in learning more. May you consider with open ears and open eyes. Meditate on each truth, not reacting, but thinking deeply about them. We are not meant to be wildly emotional creatures. We are spiritual children. Consider each truth as you consider my book. I hope you also get to know a little about me, as I put much of myself in my book, and I will put more into this blog. Thank you for coming here. I hope to present new material at least weekly. Many blessings to you. |
AuthorI am Ordinary Brother, Author of Get Married and Save the World. I hope you are enriched by this blog about my book and a little of my life. Archives
January 2020
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