Today two wonderful friends are becoming one.  Their relationship has been a great inspiration to me as well as others.  As excited as I am for their marriage, I wanted to take a better look at how God views marriage.

Eph. 5:23-32
For a husband is the head of wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior.  As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.  And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church.  He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word.  He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a sport or wrinkle or any other blemish.  Instead, she will be holy and without fault.  In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies.  For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife.  No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church.  And we are his body. 

What a beautiful passage!!  I think marriage is a tool that God gives us to make us more like Christ!  Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage asked this question, "What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?"  Can we lay down our aspirations to love and serve our spouse?  Through marriage we can learn about unconditional love, respect, forgiveness, and honor.  We can see our flaws and grow from it.  We can develop a servant's heart and draw closer to God.  As a result, true happiness can be discovered which i believe to be one of God;s desires for designing the covenant of marriage!