Holy More Than Happy
Saturday · Anchor: Rom.7.2-3· preview (not yet released by the daily cron)
From the sermon The Divorce Test
Reflect and pray
Most of us walked into marriage with a simple hope: 'I want to be happy.' We imagined companionship, laughter, and comfort. Those gifts are real, but they are not the primary purpose. The apostle Paul reminds us that a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. That binding is not a sentence; it is a furnace. God uses the lifelong nature of marriage to burn away our selfishness, expose our idols, and shape us into the image of Christ.
In other words, marriage is meant to make you holy more than to make you happy. When your spouse fails you, you are given the chance to forgive as Christ forgave. When you fail your spouse, you are given the chance to repent and grow. The very permanence that feels restrictive is the very thing that forces you to deal with your own heart rather than running to a new situation.
This is why the easy exit is so tempting. It promises happiness elsewhere. But Jesus calls us to stay and be sanctified. He calls us to love when it is costly, to serve when it is unnoticed, and to remain when every instinct says to flee. In that staying, you become more like the One who stayed on the cross for you.
If your marriage is difficult today, do not assume you are in the wrong place. Assume you are in the right furnace. Ask God to show you what He is forming in you through the pressure. It may be patience. It may be humility. It may be a love that looks less like romance and more like Calvary. Either way, He is at work. Trust Him with the heat. He knows exactly what temperature is required to make you holy.