Marriage: A picture of the Christian life

I just got married on Saturday. In the final weeks of preparation and on the week of my honeymoon, I have been hit again and again by the parallels and connections of marriage to my relationship with God.

The proposal

 

This is when the guy saves his money, buys an expensive ring, plans a special day, and "pops the question." He asks, "Will you marry me?" Jesus did this when He came to earth and died for us. He gave up His throne in heaven, came down to earth as a human being, and gave His life to make a way for me to spend eternity with Him. When He came to earth, Jesus asked, "Will you marry me?"

 



I said "Yes!"

 

This happens right after the proposal; the girl, filled with excitement, happily says "Yes!" This yes sets everything else in motion. The guy is on his knee waiting, but he cannot act until she responds. In my Christian life, this happened when I was eleven. I finally became aware of Jesus being there waiting, asking me to trust Him. All I had to was say yes.

 

Wedding planning

 

This is the time after the proposal. It may be months, it may be years. The bride becomes consumed by wedding details. There's the dress, the flowers, the cake, the caterer, the decorations, the music, and on and on. The bride spends as much time as she can to prepare for the wedding day so that it can be perfect. As I was planning my wedding, I started to think that our earthly life is a lot like planning for a wedding! There is growing, there are relationships, there is joy, and there is pain. In this earthly life, I am preparing myself to be ready for my groom, Jesus Christ.

 

The ceremony

 

This is where all of the wedding plan comes to a head. The day is finally here. All of your plans fit together and you get to enjoy it. You present yourself to your groom in a white dress. You vow yourself to him, promising to be true to him. I've started to think of the ceremony as my transition from earth to heaven. On earth, I am spending my time preparing myself to be ready for heaven. When the time comes for me to go to heaven, I will get to see my preparation come to a conclusion as I am joined with my heavenly love.

 



The reception

 

This is where you get to celebrate your marriage with friends and family who have spent time helping you prepare, awaiting the day you would be joined with your husband. In the Christian life, I think this is the marriage feast in heaven. The church, Christ's bride, will finally be joined with Him, and we will celebrate at the marriage feast.



The honeymoon

 

This is the time after the wedding is over. You and your husband dedicate a length of time (typically a week) to spend with each other, getting to know each other more intimately. It is a time of joy. In the Christian life, I feel very strongly that heaven will be like a honeymoon. In heaven, we will spend eternity being intimately connected with God. We will have all the time in the world to get to know Him and to have a relationship with Him.

 

In John 17:3, Jesus prayed, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Jesus understood that eternal life meant having a relationship with God. Although I can't comprehend it all, I am so excited that God has started revealing things about Him to me. I'm looking forward to how much more I can learn about God through my marriage.

Questioning God

"'O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son?'" - Genesis 15:2a

 

Have you ever questioned God?

 

Lately, that's what I've been doing. Today, due to the advice of a professor, I began reading through Genesis with the intent of seeing it as what it is--a narrative. What I learned from this exercise is incredibly challenging and so very much like my God.

 

Abraham's story begins in Genesis 12. And what an interesting story it is. In chapter 12, God calls Abram out of his land and promises to make Abram a great nation. However, at the first sign of trouble, Abram gets scared. He lies to Pharaoh and says that his wife, Sarai, is actually his sister. In chapter 13, Abram and his nephew Lot decide to part ways due to conflict between their herdsmen. After they part, God reaffirms His promise to make Abram a great nation. Uncle Abram comes to Lot's rescue in chapter 14 and then, in chapter 15:1, God tells Abram "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great." Abram's response surprised me. In 15:2, Abram said to God, "O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son?"

 

Wait. What was that?

 

Abraham--the father of nations, the man remembered in Hebrews for his great faith--questioned God's goodness. He had received a promise from God and that promise was affirmed two more times. But Abram wasn't seeing anything happen. As far as he understood, in order to be a great nation, he had to have an heir. Abram was painfully aware of the fact that he did NOT have an heir. He couldn't see how God's promise could ever come to fruition. God's response amazed me and put a smile on my face.

 

In 15:5 it says that "the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, 'Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That's how many descendants you will have!'" God heard Abram's doubts and fears and, in response, He lovingly affirmed the truth. I picture God in such a real way here, putting His arm around Abram and leading Him outside, stretching out His hand to show Abram the wonder of His promise.

What happened next was even more amazing to me.

 

In 15:6 it says "Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith." Did you catch that? Abram questioned God's goodness 4 verses ago, God comforted him and told him what was true, and then Abram BELIEVED God. Even though he was questioning God's goodness, Abram believed what God told Him was true. This made me realize something.

 

Although I am questioning God's goodness right now, although I don't understand a lot of things right now, I know what God says in His Word is true. So although it doesn't FEEL like it is true right now, I can believe God ANYWAY.

 

God has lovingly put His arm around me, smiled, and said, "Korrin... my plan is so much greater than what you can see right now. Just know that what I say is true and will be realized sometime in the future. Trust me."

 

This is so much easier said than done, but I am so blessed to have an amazing God who accepts my questioning and loves and comforts me through it. I may not feel like everything He is doing right now is good, but I can believe that it is anyway because of what He says in His word. What an amazing God He is!

 

 

Kindred Spirits

"A kindred spirit is much more than just a friend. A kindred spirit, is someone who understands unconditionally, without even trying. Someone who becomes a part of your life without even trying, whether you like it or not, because somehow or the other, she just knows what you're thinking. That someone will not only tolerate your incessant ramblings but will manage to acquire the underlying sense behind it. That someone gives you far more than love or friendship - that someone 'gets' you, which is much harder to find than love/friendship."

*disclaimer* I don't want to offend anyone!! I realized tonight that I am missing something in my life. I don't have that kindred spirit or that bosom friend. Yeah, sure, I have a fiance and I'm not putting that down... but I am missing that girl friend that connects with me on a level that my guy can't. I don't want this to sound whiny... but it just hit me tonight that it's what I've been missing. Sure I have lots of surface friends, or friends who I do certain things with, but I don't have that one that really gets every part of me... that one who I can be my true self with. I feel like I have to put up this fake front with everyone else. People have this expectation or idea of what I should be... and I try to live up to it. The result of this has been that I don't feel connected to anyone.

This post feels so drab and lame... but it's what is on my heart.

an everlasting covenant

Today I've been struggling with a lot of fear. I've been drifting away from God every day. I feel lost. I want to get back to where I used to be in my relationship with God. I feel so spiritually dead. Tonight, I was talking to a friend about God's commitment to His children. I asked them if God would ever push His children away, or not call them back to Him after they went away. Honestly, I'm questioning God's faithfulness. A couple of weeks ago, I checked out a stack of books from the library. One of the books is titled "50 Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die" by: John Piper. I looked at reason #14: To bring us to faith and keep us faithful. Piper talks about the terms of God's covenant made with the blood of His Son, Jesus. He quotes a verse from Jeremiah where God says, "... this is the covenant that I will make... I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts....for I will forgive their iniequity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Piper says that the covenant is sure and certain because it is bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. God secures our faithfulness. In Jeremiah 32:40, God says, "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me." God givesme a new heart and a new security with Christ. He won't let me turn from Him. He'll keep me as His child. His covenant is guaranteed... it is bought with the precious, priceless blood of His Son, Jesus. Here's a final thought I found in Isaiah 59:21. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the Lord: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring's offspring," says the Lord, "from now and forever."

I just think it's so amazing how God saved me, made me His child, and promises to keep me forever. I'm listening to this song right now... and it speaks my praise to God. It's called "Here in Your Presence":

"Heaven is trembling in awe of Your wonder
Kings and their kingdoms are standing amazed.
Here in Your presence we are undone.
Here in Your presence heaven and earth become one.
Here in Your presence all things are new.
Here in Your presence everything bows before You.

Wonderful, glorious, matchless in every way.
Wonderful, glorious, matchless in every way.
Wonderful, glorious, matchless in every way."

Joy

Dear Silent Friend,

It's only 3 1/2 weeks into the semester, but it feels like months. In that time God has done some crazy things. I lost my roommate, and have been experiencing some tough confrontations from God about some things in my life. Having my roommate move out is not tragic or terrible, but all of a sudden I feel like I have no connections to people anymore. The people who seem to care about me most are the people I work for and my teachers. I have lost a lot of motivation to practice my instruments, walk to the cafeteria to eat, and do anything productive. I feel like some decisions I have made have cut the joy out of my life. I have a weight pressing down on my heart and can't seem to get it to go away.

That said, I've been hearing a lot of things from God lately, but acting on them has been tough. Maybe this "weight" is God's reminder that I haven't done what He's shown me. I am always afraid that I'll do something, thinking it was God, and then turn out to be wrong. I've waited and prayed... and I feel like I have gotten the same answers and guidance from Him, I am just afraid to act.

Joy is my middle name, but it's missing from my life right now. I want my joy back...

Love,

Korrin

Be holy as the LORD your God is holy

I've been reading Leviticus for my Pentateuch class. We have talked a lot about the laws and customs for cleanliness and God's standard for holiness. At first glance, it seems like lot of pointless information--why do we need to know about all the rules of the law now, when we aren't under that law anymore? I think the answer is that it teaches us who God is.

In Leviticus, if you didn't follow the code of holiness to the letter, you suffered for coming to God in an unholy way. The new covenant is an amazing demonstration of God's love and grace. God is perfect. God is holy. God demands perfection from us, but because we are fallen we cannot meet that demand. God chooses, in His love and mercy, to cover our imperfection with the blood of His son, our sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ. I don't think that words can express how amazing God's covenant with His people is. God chooses to overlook our sin and let an undeserving, unholy people come into His presence and worship Him!

I've been thinking that even though we don't have such strict rules to follow now, we should still come to God with the right attitude. I think a lot of times that we "defile" God's sanctuary and His name by the attitude that we choose to worship with. I heard a speaker today talk about holiness. He said that we need to have a strong "signal" in order to be able to communicate with and live in the way a holy God wants us to. I let so much get in the way of God. I choose other things over God. I think, according to Leviticus, that I'm breaking a whole lot of commandments in my heart by the way I live right now. My relationship with God is so broken right now. I know that His love covers my sin, but that does nothing to excuse my part in the covenant. God comes first. God deserves to be first. I just pray that He will help me to put Him in that spot and keep Him there.

Saying no to syncretism.

I learned about syncretism in my Old Testament survey class. It's the combination or fusion of different forms of beliefs and/or practices. In 2 Kings 17:33 (yes... I finally made it here!) it says: "They feared the LORD and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile." And in verse 41: "So while these nations feared the LORD, they also served their idols, their children likewise and their grandchildren, as their fathers did, so they do to this day." When I was reading this, I realized that I'm just like the people of Israel. They were trying to fit God into the holes that their other gods didn't fill. They were serving God... but they were also serving themselves, and in the end they always wound up rejecting God. "To this day they do according to the earlier customs: they do not fear the LORD, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances or the law. or the commandments which the LORD commanded the sons of Jacob, whom He named Israel" (vs. 34). We can't just fit God in... we have to give Him a place in our lives. That's something I'm starting to realize more and more as I read through the Old Testament, and study at school. School, work, and friends may keep me busy, but God has got to come first. I can't just find a spot for Him at the end... because at the end there won't be any room. I have to give God a spot first and then fit the rest in. I can't serve two masters. "No one can serve two masters; for either he wil hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24).

I want to choose to say NO to syncretism. I don't give God enough alone time. I figure "I can text in between reading verses", or "this music is worship music after all... it won't distract me that much!" I think that God deserves at least 5 minutes without a cell phone buzz interrupting my time with Him - God deserves SO much more than that. He sent His Son to die on a cross for me... even though He knew that I would put other things before Him, even though I know that He is the most important thing in my life.

Christmas is getting closer and this is the perfect time to remember this. Christmas is the time we celebrate the gift of God to us - His Son. I want God to hold a special place in my heart and in my life. I want Him to be first. Say no to syncretism and put God first.

Preparing to die.

I recently fell in love with the movie Titanic. My sister can't understand why. I know why. As soon as I saw on my computer screen the Titanic straight up in the air ready to sink, I prayed the prayer "God prepare me for death." I know that the movie is full of actors and special effects, but the event really happened. I was watching the story of Jack and Rose unfold and knew that if I was Rose and I was faced with death, I would not handle it so courageously. Why not? If I died, I would be with the God who saved me.

Why am I so scared to die? I don't know why, I guess it's human nature. We WANT to live. We fight to live. In the Titanic everyone knew that they were going to die, yet they still continued to fight to make it to the top of the ship, to spend just one more minute living -- even if they lived that minute in fear. I guess we need that drive to live in this life, otherwise we would just give up. If God didn't place that desire in us when He created us, we would give up far too easily.

I am not ready to die yet. But I pray that simple prayer to God: "God prepare me for death." I want to face my death with courage. I don't want to die in fear. God has been putting this on my heart so much lately, He's been preparing me for death. Death is going to come one day, I finally comprehend that. Whether God allows me to live until I'm 85 with a husband and six kids, or whether He chooses that I die from cancer, or from a car wreck, I must be prepared. That is the prayer of my heart. I want my ending to be beautiful, pleasing to God. God, prepare ME for death.

And as a little side note, Titanic made me realize why guys are made to be the leaders. I know that it's a story and that there are special effects involved, but Rose never would've made it off the Titanic if it weren't for Jack. During the whole movie Jack protected Rose. He taught her, strengthened her, led her, helped her not to fear. His strength, his love, pulled her through. Rose never would've pushed through freezing temperatures and losing the only man she loved if it weren't for Jack. It's like that Bible verse "Greater love has no man that this: that he lay down his life for his friends."

So I end this blog not as a praising of how great the Titanic is... but as how great our God is! God could've have allowed the sinking of the Titanic to happen because he was thinking of me. The day when the script writer penned the story line, God had me in mind. God has been preparing me for death even before I was born. It may sound silly to some, but I've been learning that God works in weird ways, and that God allows EVERYTHING to happen for a reason. It's not far fetched or wrong to think that God let the Titanic to happen because He had me in mind. It just shows me that somewhere, somehow, God makes beauty rise from the ashes.

Father God, prepare me for death. Make my ending beautiful in your eyes. Make my life a witness to all who see me. In Your name I pray, Amen.