7 Relationship Goals for Your MarriageExemplo

#7 - developing a missional marriage

Mark: God’s purposes for marriage fire up my passion for marriage itself. It gives us a common goal, something to aim for beyond ourselves and beyond a cozy relationship.

Christine: It’s exciting, and perhaps a little scary, that our relationship can actually illustrate for the world the nature of God’s love. We can show people what He is like. 

When God created Adam and Eve He blessed them and instructed them to "fill the earth." Yet this was much more than a command to increase the human population by having children, perhaps good news for couples struggling to conceive. 

He was sending them on a life mission to reproduce His image through godly people. We can only do that as we get to know Him and then help to make Him known to others.

God’s love changes us:

• We are set free, becoming more ourselves because God’s unconditional love and acceptance free us to be the people He intends us to be.
        
• We are transformed, growing more into God’s image, or likeness, through His Spirit working in us.
• Our marriage is transformed. When we open our marriage up to God He builds an ever-strengthening relationship of intimacy and trust, held together with sacrificial love and mutual submission. We become stronger together than the sum of our individual strengths.   

God wants all people to come to Him and love Him. If we are in step with Him, He will use us to draw others, including our children if we have them, to seek God for themselves.

Others will see God in us when we live godly, loving lives and give Him the credit. He wants us to stand out as "salt and light," so that our lifestyles influence society. 

God’s desire is to shape every aspect of our married lives to be distinct, reflecting His image through the nature of our love for one another. By loving each other in God’s way we point to the source, just as Jesus in loving sacrificially, pointed the way to God.  

Christ-centered living is important. Faith without action is empty, even hypocritical. But living out the Christian life is not enough. 

We need to introduce people to Jesus by telling them His message of love and forgiveness because otherwise they won’t know. It’s also worth remembering that telling people about God’s love is an expression of love for them. 

REFLECTION

What do you think others (including your children, if you have them) see when they look at your marriage?

What are some ways you could signpost people to God? 

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you that we are made in your image. Please help us to live a Christ-centered marriage that shows others something of what you are like. Please help us to share your message of love and forgiveness with those around us.

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