Humdrum
Life can go by at a pace of a snail sometimes when you are waiting on something to happen. It can be the day in and day out tasks that can seem humdrum. It can make you feel like life is dreary, dull, and even monotonous. We sometimes can feel like life is overwhelming while in a struggle or even during the 'humdrum' seasons, but we can easily rectify this thinking with eternity in mind! Our marriage needs to ponder eternity!
Made for Eternity
It's hard to wrap our mind around eternity when we live in the here and now. I always try and keep heaven on my mind, but last year, and this year it's the common theme. Last year, 2020, I think we all thought about eternity. Heaven and Hell are not always a topic that most want to talk about. Why? Hell is pretty self explanatory, they either don't want to go there or don't believe it's real. Heaven is more of a metaphor for most people or something nice to talk about when someone we love passes. But we were made for eternity. God had us in mind when He created it and He had marriage in mind too!
Strangers
We are actually strangers in a foreign land, we are just passing through. I am doing a 40 day study with a group of women right now that focuses on your purpose. Some of you may have read it, I never have. "The Purpose Driven Life," by Rick Warren. Brent and I are reading it together, and it's definitely a very reflective book. I was challenged to read it as I know my purpose but wanted some more clarity. I find that we get stuck thinking this is our home, but it's not, eternity is our final destination. We need to stick close to one another, and help each other navigate to that beautiful place called heaven.
Comfortable
Comfort is something we adore, especially in the western world. I love my comfy jammies, a comfy blanket, and my comfy home. My husband and I love to be comfy together. We don't need a lot, but if we can cuddle up next to each other and read a book, watch a movie, or even just to talk, we are good! But our lives are not lived for comfort, we are reminded daily of the evil that exists in the world. Our marriage, should be focused and reflect eternity. We should not get so caught up in the affairs of this world that we get too comfortable. We need to focus on Gods view and do all we can to accomplish it with each other.
Marriage And Eternity
How do we reflect eternity? That's a very good question. What really is eternity and heaven? How do we focus on it so our lives are headed there? I truly think we first need to see Jesus for who He is. He is God, who robed himself in flesh and came to earth to save us from our sins. He is fully God and fully man. Then as we grow in Him, we need to also grow in our marriage and reflect His glory, His light, and His name! Our lives should be an example of His love, and our marriage is just that. A marriage between the bridegroom (Jesus) and the bride (the church). He loved us so much that He died for us, and we love and respect Him by obeying His word. We are wed to Him, so we are one!
Heaven
How does our marriage seek to live a life that we are headed towards heaven? Jesus said in John 3, "you must be born again of the water and the Spirit", and commanded us to be born again. He gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, and then Peter opened up the church on the day of Pentecost. God always has more my friend! He gave an answer on that day, Acts 2:38-39 "Repent, be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ or the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, the promise is unto you, your children, and to all that are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call." So we obey His word, and then run the race towards heaven.
Daily
So back to the humdrum. We often get bored, and think we need more, we need excitement, we need to get away. This is just what God put in us so that we won't forget that we need to be with HIM forever and that we are just passing through. He made us in Him image and we need to remember it's the daily tasks, the disciplines, and daily activities that move us forward. Heaven is more than we can imagine, and it's better than we could dream. Being born again is just the door. Then we do the daily routines, that draw us closer to Jesus. We need to grow just like a baby, toddler, teen, and adult, until we reach eternity. Your marriage is becoming one and doing this together. You grow and learn together, and through it all you build this life with eternity in mind!!
Scripture
Monday: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." We don't know when that eastern sky will split open, but let's live with eternity in mind in our life and marriage that we are ready.
Tuesday: Psalm 137:7-8 says, Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." Wherever we choose to make our home, God is there, we cannot escape His presence. We were made for eternity, and we do have a choice. Let's live our life and marriage that we make heaven our home.
Wednesday: Psalm 119:18 says, "I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me." When we realize we are strangers and this isn't our final destination, we can truly say hide not thy commandments from me, because we want to know how to make it to heaven.
Thursday: Romans 12:2 says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." When we are comfortable, we tend to be conformed, but when we are transformed by His word we will know and live out His purpose for us!
Friday: Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;" Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is the bride, our marriage should reflect this love and light to the world.
Saturday: 1 Corinthians 9:24 says, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain." We are running with heaven in mind, run that you may obtain it!! Do it together!!
Sunday: Matthew 24:13 says, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” This means we will stand fast, endure hardships, we will stay true, with patience and perseverance. Daily we will run the race, and endure until we meet eternity.
Contact
Please feel free to contact us by way of email on our blog posts or our new website! Also, please feel free to share and post our blog posts! Happilyevermarried.org or blancinglifewiththebrowns@gmail.com Thank you and you too can have a happily ever married marriage!