There's An Assignment On Your Marriage! (a kingdom perspective)

The Old Testament opens with a dramatic display of the power of a very active God engaged in Creation! Let there be! Let there be! Let there be! Everything He did, every word spoken, was motivated by His master plan, the fuel of His Purpose! What we often fail to notice is that marriage was also created as a conduit of divine purpose! There’s an Assignment on your Marriage!

People as Carriers of Divine Purpose
God’s plan to form a nation (Genesis 12:2) to represent Him in the earth by living out His divine government and rule, was revealed when he told Abraham, “I will make of thee a great nation!” Abraham, Father of the Faithful (Romans 4:16), the originator of the monotheistic belief in the one True God, would become the standard for relating with God. The scriptures depict a relational God, desiring to manifest Himself by responding to and engaging with His people. Abraham’s faith in God produced a lifestyle of hearing God's voice and responding to Him. This faith governed and regulated his thoughts and behavior and was accredited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3). We too are justified by powerful, energetic faith (Romans 5:1).

Abraham receives more details regarding God's plan. Through Abraham's seed all the families or nations of the earth would be blessed by virtue of Abraham's obedience (Genesis 22:18)! God would choose a people and enter into covenant relationship with them. Their experience with YHWH would afford their service as Kingdom Ambassadors, able to connect others to God, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14). Families would be impacted by tangible manifestations of God's kingdom!

Likewise, you and I are called to participate in God's global initiative, as a chosen generation (a race of the reborn), royal priesthood, holy nation, and God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9). Christians are to show forth/proclaim His praises, goodness, and excellent qualities in the earth. The Bible we study is ALL about God, the Creator, earnestly desiring a relationship with His creation!

This same desire is also the motivation for the care, attention to details and divine forethought in the selection of human beings for service, as in Jeremiah 1:5, “before I formed you in your mother’s belly I knew you! Before you were born, I set you apart! I ordained or appointed you (or I made you to be…). Why? To further the divine Cause according to God's plan! The Hebrew word for appointed, ordained, indicates something similar to an internal wiring. God assigned a piece of His purpose to you, before you were born! Every part of you leans in a certain direction and has tendencies and gifts specific to your purpose (Romans 12). That wiring designates your deepest initiative, drive and longings! Its determines what moves you! The Real You!

Marriage: The Bigger Picture
From this vantage point we gain a Kingdom perspective of marriage and are able to see its BIGGER PICTURE! Marriage was born out of a need identified by the Creator Himself, who met it by divinely orchestrated events. Never forget that God alone designed and created marriage, not human beings! So With respect to carrying purpose, imagine God peering through time from the END to the BEGINNING and saying, "It’s not Good for man to be alone." We miss the richness of marriage when we limit its existence to earthly companionship, though vital and quite beautiful! There is so much more! With Christ at the center, couples emerge as Partners in Purpose and Partners on Purpose!

The Hebrew word for "to be alone" (lebaddo) is translated as only to himself or separate to himself, in all aspects of life, strength, might, wit, vision, capacity, etc. The indication is a state of not merely being by himself, but a state of isolation, which God said wasn’t good.

God's solution was to make a helper suitable. Question: What did Adam need help with? Cooking? Cleaning? Laundry? I recently asked this question at a couples' seminar and one wife, feeling her comedic anointing responded, "Directions!" Though she may have had a valid point, I submit that Adam needed help to fulfill his life-assignment of subduing and ruling (Genesis 1:28).

Helper suitable in Hebrew is (ezer kenegdo) translated as a counter part to himself, one like himself, complimentary to him in every way, possessing neither inferiority nor superiority, in all things like and equal (Strong's). The Creator performed divine surgery on Adam, and marriage, both spiritual and physical in nature, was born (Genesis 2:19)! The result! Two divinely wired people, each carrying a piece of God’s purpose, each wired for a specific mission, united to advance God’s Kingdom agenda.

As carriers of His presence couples are to cancel darkness with His light, (Isaiah 60:1), bring others into relationship with God (2 Corinthians 5:18), and make a difference in the earth (Ephesians 3:20). This Kingdom Perspective activates and transforms a Married couple into, "One can chase a thousand, two can put ten thousand to flight" (Deuteronomy 32:30); "Out of the mouths of two or three witnesses, let every word be established"(2 Cor 13:1); "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).

In this light, marriage is perceived as an extension of the ministry of Jesus Christ in our day.
There's an assignment on your marriage!