Monday's Marriage Moment - Marriage - The Great Revealer!

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

1 Corinthians 7:14

Here is a truth for you: marriage is a great revealer! Whether you are a perfect husband or wife or not (none of us are), being married presents lots of opportunities for you to grow and mature. It presents lots of opportunities for you to be selfish or generous, loving or not so loving, compassionate or cold. It provides lots of opportunities for growth. The choice is yours!

See, being married will reveal what is in your heart. It will reveal what your motives really are. It will reveal your character flaws and your strengths. Marriage will show you who you really are.

God designed it that way. He knew that sharing your life with someone would help peel away the facade of who you pretend to be, and expose who you really are - the beauty and the flaws. He knew that being married would cause you to take a good, hard look at yourself. 

There is nothing like living with someone everyday and having to adjust to will reveal how patient you are, how loving you are, or how kind you are (or are not).

There is nothing like having a disagreement with someone who sees the real you and hearing the words that come out of your own mouth - are they edifying and reconciling? peaceful and calming?

What is your marriage revealing about you? Are you as nice as you thought you were? Are you as prayerful and spiritual as you project to others? 

Yes, our marriage is doing what it is supposed to do - revealing things to us about us so that we can be conformed to the image of Christ. That's why I believe God used marriage as a parable for His relationship with the church. He knew that as we become one with our spouse that things would come up that have to come out. He knew that attitudes and issues would need to be addressed, just like He knows that as we become one with Him things will come up and out and have to be addressed. 

He also knew that we needed the help of our spouse to become who He has called us to be. He knew that when we work together, to help perfect each other, people will see His image and His handiwork. He knew that our union, perfectly imperfect, would bring Him ultimate glory.

Perhaps instead of being frustrated, angry, and resentful, we should be more reflective and thankful that God gave us what we needed. 

What has your marriage revealed about you? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!