In our first couple years of marriage, Kelly and I were in a small group Bible study through our church that was made up mostly of young married couples. One week the conversation turned to plans for the three-day weekend ahead. "He'll probably just sit around and watch football all weekend," one wife complained while rolling her eyes. "C'mon, it's my three-day weekend!" the husband said.
What I wanted to say (but didn't) was the lesson that I was still just learning after one year of marriage: there was no such thing as "my" three-day weekends any more. When we said "I do" we gave up "my" three-day weekends for something much bigger and better. It's now "our" three-day weekend, and we work together to make it something that we both enjoy. I think that men have a harder time with this than women, but perhaps I'm wrong about that.
A plant will grow into the size of the pot. A fish will grow into the size of the fish tank. The soul will grow into the size of the thing it most often sits in. The "self" is way too small a thing for so noble and wonderful thing as the soul. It was made for God. There, the soul flourishes infinitely.
Therefore, God paces us through a lifetime of dying to ourselves so that we might find life in Him as we serve Him and our neighbors--both near and far. And marriage is strong medicine for that work. It will rescue us from the tyranny of ourselves if we will let the Spirit do its' work in our lives through this wonderful tool.
1 comment:
Dude. I'm totally with you on this post. Lock, stock and, oh wait there's one thing . . .
I think that men have a harder time with this than women, but perhaps I'm wrong about that.
Yeah, I'm thinking that you might be wrong about that.
But other than that: You're right on. :-)
It's not just "our" weekend in the sense that it's "our" weekend to have fun. It's also "our" weekend to take care of things that aren't super fun but are super necessary: mow the lawn, clean house, run errands. It's always best to decide together what's going to get done, either fun-wise or otherwise.
If not, the argument then becomes, "well, it's your lawn to mow," or "your house to clean." ugh. It's always our lawn and our house.
People, take heed of Alex: unless explicitly agreed upon, "my" is out the window and "our" is the operative word post-marriage. Wow! and Hooray!
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