Today I will end the week of posts with the last of six reasons why marriage matters (#mondaymarriagematters).
Marriage matters because of its unique intimacy.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25).
The greatest relationship in all the world is found in the redemptive, justifying work of Jesus Christ on the cross that makes us, who were at one time enemies of God, now reconciled to God, and no longer at enmity with God but set apart to Him for eternity (Romans 3:9-31; 5:1-11; Colossians 1:20-22). That relationship is offered to all men by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Peter 1:2-4). The cross and resurrection proves that God the Father sent His Son to reconcile the world back to Himself to be restored to eternal fellowship (John 3:16).
There is another special relationship that cannot be duplicated on this planet in any other union except between what God has ordained between only a man and a woman. That uniqueness is the intimacy found in a husband-wife relationship. For intimacy to flourish in a marriage relationship to its highest level there must be integrity, trust, and openness. Adam and Eve were completely at ease with each other at this highest level because at this point in the narrative there was no evil. There was genuine, pure openness. Even though evil abounds in our world and in our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9), genuine believers in Christ have the power through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to experience blessed intimacy with God the Father and in marriage (John 14:16-23; 15:1-27; Romans 8:1-39; Ephesians 5:18-33).
Marriage matters every day of the week, month, year and your life. As you grow in your intimacy with your spouse, you will be glad you took intimacy seriously.
Here’s my testimony to intimacy that I hope will encourage you: The Gift of 35 Years
From A Pastor's Heart 