"Give
my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, who work together with me in Christ Jesus
and who risked their own lives to save my life. I am thankful to them, and all
the non-Jewish churches are thankful as well. Also,
greet for me the church that meets at their house”
Romans 16:3-5 (NCV)
Priscilla
and Aquila may provide the most romantic picture of marriage in the
Bible. In Romans 16 notice
the word “together.” Notice further that they were co-workers with Paul in
ministering to others, actually risking their lives together.
Notice how Tim Keller in his recent book explains the foundation of a
successful marriage.
“This
principle - that your spouse should be capable of becoming your best friend - is
a game changer when you address the question of compatibility in a prospective
spouse. If you think of marriage largely in terms of erotic love, then
compatibility means sexual chemistry and appeal. If you think of marriage
largely as a way to move into the kind of social status in life you desire, then
compatibility means being part of the desired social class, and perhaps common
tastes and aspirations for lifestyle. The problem with these factors is that
they are not durable.
Physical
attractiveness will wane, no matter how hard you work to delay its departure. And
socio-economic status unfortunately can change almost overnight. When people
think they have found compatibility based on these things, they often make the
painful discovery that they have built their relationship on unstable ground. A
woman "lets herself go" or a man loses his job, and the compatibility
foundation falls apart.” Timothy
Keller, The
Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of
God
However,
when two marry out of a common friendship and common vision and common faith and
common calling, a marriage can not only last, but it can last meaningfully with
eternal implications. It can
also click!
For more:
follow on Twitter @jefflampl
No comments:
Post a Comment