It would seem like it is time to get back into our routine of looking at scripture through the lens of marriage. We will pick up where we left off.
It would seem rather appropriate that we pick up our study where we left off, with the following verse…
S: Ephesians 4:22
Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life,”
(Message)
O: Paul is encouraging each one of us to be developing a new way of living, a new way of looking at life, a new way of treating people, in short, a new way of being. We can assume by the earlier phrase that he uses, “that there be no going along”, that this is going to take some work and effort. This change is not necessarily going to come easily. Some aspects of what God wants to see in our lives may come easier than others, however, there are going to be other strongholds that are going to be much more difficult to change, and for each individual, these strongholds are going to be different. For one it may be being strong-willed; for another it may be independence; and for yet another, it may be sarcasm. We each have our faults and weaknesses.
A: When it comes to our marriages, these faults only become amplified because we are living in such close proximity to another individual. After the initial infatuation and giddiness of the being able to live together and see each other nakedness wears off, these baser weaknesses will rear their ugly heads and start wreaking havoc between ourselves and the one that we love the dearest. If these faults and weaknesses are not dealt with up front, they will eventually turn our best relationship into our worst relationship. The remedy for the old life is to be finished with it, and you can only really finish with it by spending time with God, through reading the Bible and praying, specifically asking Him to show you how to model Him in your marriage. It is only as we willingly adopt His lifestyle for us that we can smooth off the rough edges, the difficult communication patterns, and alter the way we respond to our wives, that our marriages will become the show pieces of human relations that God intended them to be.
P: Lord, help me to realize and understand that it is only as I spend time relenting to your will and design for my personality that I can begin to treat my wife with the respect and honor that she deserves, which will make our marriage a show piece for your design in marriage. Amen.