Central Truth

The reality of marriage can be a challenge to our devotion to the Lord.

Reflections

I wish you could have been there…I wish you could have seen Martha's reaction when I told her she’s getting in the way of my relationship with the Lord. She was flattered, to say the least. 

No, I didn’t really say that, but I think we can look at Paul’s words and get the sense that he’s bashing marriages. He’s not. Let’s look at what he is saying. Paul, being single, had the ability to engage in a traveling job without the constraints of having to care for a family. He is completely free to devote every waking second to the Lord. Those of us who are married can’t without neglecting our familial responsibilities. So where’s the rub? Is marriage a hindrance? Is the attention given to Martha and the boys time not dedicated to the Lord?

We see marriage in the first book of the Bible where God says that it is not good for man to be alone. The Church is called the Bride of Christ.  Proverbs 18:22 says “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD”. Marriage is a good thing! For those of us who are married, then, our challenge is to show our devotion to the Lord through serving our family. Ephesians 5:25-27 says “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” That’s a tall order. But we see that we can indeed serve the Lord by serving our spouse.

Paul closes this section with “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” Clearly he is not forbidding marriage but instead simply being candid that marriage can be a challenge to our walk. Married or not, let us all strive for undistracted devotion.

Discussion Questions

1. Where in your marriage are you fully devoting yourself to the Lord and where are you not?
2. If single, has God called you to a single life to free you from the “distraction” of marriage and allow you to fully devote yourself to Him?
3. If so, to what is He calling you?
4. How are you praying for those you know called to singleness?