Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.
–Ephesians 5:25-26
The Greek legend of Pygmalion describes the man who couldn’t find a wife to suit him, so he decided that he would make a wife for himself. He sculpted a beautiful woman and knocked off all the rough edges and made this woman just how he imagined. So he got down on his knees and, according to the legend, prayed to his gods and the woman came alive and became his wife.
Now, that might sound like a pretty good deal to some, but even if you could fashion your mate just exactly identical to what you perceive the best person could be, it wouldn’t be enough. That’s because God has a better idea for your wife or your husband than you could imagine. And that is to conform them in the image of Jesus Christ.
That is God’s divine design for every person – to be like Him. And the first step in understanding your mate is to genuinely delight in one another’s uniqueness. Marrying another version of yourself might sound good at first, but in the end, that union will be a force to transform you into Christlikeness.
Marriage takes forgiveness. It takes patience. It takes love and kindness. So as you grow together with your mate, let your differences mold both of you further into Christ’s image every day.
LET YOUR DIFFERENCES IN MARRIAGE STRENGTHEN YOUR DEPENDENCY ON GOD AND TRANSFORM YOU INTO CHRIST’S IMAGE!
