Our initial view of marriage is that of a perfect person (me) loving an impossible other person (him)! What makes it hilarious is that that's the viewpoint from both sides. But that is, in fact, what the situation really was with God and His Israel: a perfect God attempting to love a very slippery bride. He did it by throwing all of His weight into it (as it were). He ended up keeping both sides of the covenant. He settled into a posture of beaming a steady, relentless white-heat love upon His harlot, come what may. And when that didn't work, He ascended into messier modalities: He sacrificed His own bloodiness, gave His gizzard, His gut-level everything, to get the point across without words. And in the end King David said: "Thy gentleness has made me great" (Psalm 18:35, repeated verbatim for good measure in 2 Samuel 22:36).
So, what is marriage? It's a lesson in love—in the making of love each and every day. After giving it everything He had Himself, God then turned around and gave us each a shot at it. "Now you try it." He, in effect said, "I'll allow you to think that you are perfect, at least initially, and I'll give you your own project of one spouse to practice on. You only get one, and you've got to make a success of it with this one. Let's see the depth of your ability to love. What are you made of? To what lengths will you go? How well will you do?" After His stunning concert grand piano performance, He then gives us our own piano to tinker upon. It is then that the light goes on and we realize the imponderable act of redemption.
For a practical, Bible-based and sometimes witty marriage book for wives, order Wise Womanly Ways to Grow Your Marriage. It makes a good gift for a bridal shower.
