"22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband"
-Ephesians 5:22-33
In Messiah Dance Theatre's production of Sleeping Beauty, the way Aurora was awakened from her sleep by the prince and taken into his arms so that the two could dance together filled with love and passion for each other was beautiful. It gives us a picture of what God wants to do in our hearts. On earth, and even more so in Heaven. He wants to awaken us from our fear, from turning to this world, so that He can dance with us. He wants us to walk with and dance with Him, making us one with Him. He is filled with love, passion, care, and grace for us. ... Wow. :D
This also paints a picture of what marriage should look like if it is doing what God made it to do: symbolize Christ and the church. ... And this is a beautiful picture!
I have so many prayers and thoughts concerning all of this. We are living in a broken and fallen world where marriages and relationships rarely paint a good picture of Christ and the church. It is also so easy for us to idolize marriage and relationships. To try to find our main source of satisfaction from them instead of from the only relationship where true joy, hope, peace, and love is found: our relationship with Christ. I pray that we romance Him, grow in love for Him, and spend time with Him, more than we do with any person, even our husbands or wives.
For all the marriages or relationships that are already broken, I pray for forgiveness and healing. I also pray for all to turn to Christ's love and the hope of being with Him in Heaven to get them through. I pray that our eyes will be opened to see that Christ covers all of our brokenness, weakness, and pain perfectly like no one else ever can. I pray that all the struggles and trials bring us to Him. To the cross. And to the hope we have of dancing with Him in Eternity.
For those who are single, who want to be in a relationship somday, I pray for patience. That they can really enjoy this time, using it to grow closer to and romance the Lord. That they wait for the one person God has for them. It will be worth it!!! And that they find enough hope and love in Christ to fill them with peace and joy during any hard times.
I pray that girls would not be afraid to sing and live by these lyrics:
"So what I'm not your average girl
I don't meet the standards of this world
Chasing after boys is not my thing
See I'm waiting for a wedding ring
No more dating
I'm just waiting
Like sleeping beauty
My prince will come for me
No more dating I'm just waiting
'Cause God is writing my love story
Boys are bad that's certainly not true
'Cause God's preparing one for you
If you get tired waiting till he comes
God's arms are the perfect place to run
Sleep that's the only thing
For me 'cause when I sleep God's
Preparing one for me"
-"Average Girl" Barlow Girl
For all relationships, I pray that they would be filled with Christ's love, care, and forgiveness. That they would show the world a picture of Christ and the church. I pray relationships would be used to bring those in them and others closer to God. That both good and bad times would lead us to romance, grow closer to, and find hope in our eternal Lover, Jesus.
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