This weekend I awoke around 2:30am on Sunday morning in
excruciating pain.
The pain was heavy and overwhelming so much that it awoke me from
sleep.
There was no way I could ignore this pain and go back to
sleep for there was no position I found comfort and relief from. The pain was
in my upper back between my shoulder blades, and extended down into my lower
back. I felt sick and my left arm felt a bit strange.
In desperation I awoke my husband and he got me some
tablets. While crying in pain and confusion, we sought some explanation from
Google, as I knew I hadn’t strained it!
With my symptoms aligning with possible heart attack for a
female, and the pain not easing we called for medical help. I ended up in
hospital, not returning home till around lunchtime.
I was given the all-clear for any heart attack, blood clots
or lung trouble, and the only thing we can think of is a likely MSG food
reaction, because we’d dined Saturday evening at a local Chinese restaurant
which we later found out uses MSG unless requested otherwise. My older sister
is allergic to MSG and it seems most likely I am now also. After returning home
I slept and slept, awaking briefly on and off. I finally felt mostly better
Monday morning. I am very relieved I have been given the all-clear medically.
The biggest benefit for me personally however has been experiencing the faithful agape love of God through my husband, as we transition through the ‘honeymoon’ period into more and more becoming one…Bone from bone, flesh from flesh. Yes, the miracle God does through the covenant of marriage, where a man and woman from different family lines, join to become one. An illustration of what all people can become with God through Jesus Christ. For through Jesus all of us who are born separated from God, can be forgiven to become members of His family. A spiritual re-birth through Jesus Christ gives us the DNA we need to be God’s children.
Family and relationship are so important to God. Jesus healed
people restoring them back into their community and as a way for them to see
who He was – As a testimony that He was and is, the way for them and us to
become reconciled as God’s children.
My eldest son said to his brother’s today, in regards to
them needing to get along better, “We share 50% of the same DNA!”
It made me think again about how important family is, and
therefore the sanctity and importance of Christian marriage…especially when
relationships and marriage today have become anything but godly. It made me think more about what marriage truly represents, and what any skewed perception or redefinition cannot change...
It made me think of Adam’s declaration, “Bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh” and of the scriptural command for husbands to love their
wife as their own body.
For me the difference between worldly relationships (which
in the past I have experienced) and the ones as a Christian covenant, is the
first have a value but the second ones are beyond worldly value. Let me explain…
The first type of relationship is more self-serving like a commodity…even the ones where a piece of paper is signed with
the mind, rather than the heart.
A worldly relationship expires when it no longer meets the
needs of one or both people.
A worldly relationship often grows cold when circumstances change.
The second relationship is a marriage where a man and woman
become one. They become family and therefore loyal to each other, irrespective
of circumstances.
Just like the Christian whose life changes after becoming a child
of God, a Christian covenant marriage is a permanent family-bond.
When I left home in the ambulance, my husband could not
return to sleep. He stayed awake and prayed for me, flesh of his flesh, bone of
his bone…his wife. When I came home and slept he continued to stay awake and
care for our boys, because we are his family.
Now I am not saying that relationships and marriages that are not Christian-covenant ones are void of commitment and love...
The most beautiful thing about a Christian covenant marriage
which no law can redefine, is that when the music and glamour of the celebration
fades, in Christian marriage we are left with God’s blessing of the bond of
family.
Worldly relationships where one person says to another, “I
will not give you……..(fill in the gap)” are not true agape love. They do not
represent God’s love which welcomes us as family who share in His love, and
inherit everything.
My advice to those not married is to not treat yourself as a
commodity, for someone else to purchase or use. Find peace and purpose in
gaining a new spiritual DNA through Jesus.
If you are a child of God, remember you are royalty, and a
part of a family that is beyond all the riches of the world. Therefore walk in
dignity and graciousness.
Furthermore marriage is not the most important thing in the world –
Family is. Becoming a part of God’s family is the most important and therefore
Christian marriage should reflect this.
Let me repeat marriage is NOT the most important thing in
the world – Family is. And therefore I need to add, that as children of God –
also known as the Church, or the bride of Christ – We need to treat each other
as brother and sister with God’s agape love – AS FAMILY – whether we’re married or single!
When the music and glamour of good times fade, as Christians
we are left with God’s blessing of the bond of family. As his children and
therefore as brothers and sisters, single or married, we are family and should treat
each other as such.
Christian marriage and Christian family, as a reflection of the covenant God makes with us to become His reconciled children through Jesus reflects the truth about life which no redefinition can ever change. Thanks be to God!
Love Melanie.
