Valentine’s Day is upon us! I write that with an exclamation point, not out of excitement, but out of panic. If you are like me, you are feeling the same panic because you realize that it’s the day before Valentine’s Day and you have yet to get anything for your wife. While I personally think it’s all part of a vast conspiracy created and propagated by Hallmark, I still am forced to participate. But aside from my vague protestations concerning the crass commercialization of another holiday (a smug-sounding way of saying I hate shopping and dread it further because I’ve waited till the last minute again)—Valentine’s Day is another wonderful opportunity to recognize the sacredness of marriage. Each year at Christmas, we encourage each other to remember the true meaning of the season. We ought to do the same at Valentine’s Day. It is a season for romance and a celebration of sweethearts—each of which is an expression of the marital love between a husband and wife.
But it goes even deeper than that, because even the gift of marriage is a picture. God instituted the covenant of marriage as a beautiful picture of the intimately loving, self-sacrificial, covenantal relationship between Jesus Christ and His church. As Jesus is to His church, so a husband is to be toward his bride. And as the church is supposed to be toward Christ, so is a bride to be toward her husband. The Lord has given us a beautiful picture of the way He loves us in the covenant bonds of marriage.
Of course, that picture is often distorted because of the fact that we are fallen people living in a fallen world. With divorce, abuse, infidelity, nagging, neglect, selfishness and a host of other issues, we have allowed the stain of sin to permeate the picture. But even though the picture is often marred in reality, it is beautiful in the ideal—as is the church.
The ideal marital relationship is highlighted in Ephesians 5:22-33. And not incidentally, that passage also highlights the ideal church relationship. So this year, as you go out to buy your sweetheart a card and some chocolates, don’t stop there. Cards fade and are quickly forgotten. Chocolates get eaten—quickly in my house. But the best things of marriage last forever—just like Jesus’ relationship with His church. This Valentine’s Day, purpose in your heart to strive for God’s best, both at home and at church.
But it goes even deeper than that, because even the gift of marriage is a picture. God instituted the covenant of marriage as a beautiful picture of the intimately loving, self-sacrificial, covenantal relationship between Jesus Christ and His church. As Jesus is to His church, so a husband is to be toward his bride. And as the church is supposed to be toward Christ, so is a bride to be toward her husband. The Lord has given us a beautiful picture of the way He loves us in the covenant bonds of marriage.
Of course, that picture is often distorted because of the fact that we are fallen people living in a fallen world. With divorce, abuse, infidelity, nagging, neglect, selfishness and a host of other issues, we have allowed the stain of sin to permeate the picture. But even though the picture is often marred in reality, it is beautiful in the ideal—as is the church.
The ideal marital relationship is highlighted in Ephesians 5:22-33. And not incidentally, that passage also highlights the ideal church relationship. So this year, as you go out to buy your sweetheart a card and some chocolates, don’t stop there. Cards fade and are quickly forgotten. Chocolates get eaten—quickly in my house. But the best things of marriage last forever—just like Jesus’ relationship with His church. This Valentine’s Day, purpose in your heart to strive for God’s best, both at home and at church.
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