Day 13, The 2nd Week of Advent - "Husband and Wife, Faith Partners"

Reading the Christmas story one can't help but see the two main couples:  Zechariah and Elizabeth who become the parents of John (who one day would be called 'the Baptist'); and Joseph and Mary who would become the parents of Jesus.  What strikes me is how both of them had to come "together" to a place of - what I'll call is "settled faith", a commitment, or resolve they both shared as partners.  What each couple experienced was the conviction that what was occurring in their lives was nothing more than God at work in their marriage.

What I mean is that their being together in this place of faith was what Scripture says is our goal in marriage - to be one in God.  Here's the passages again, read them slowly and catch the quality of oneness.

Luke 1:57-66 (NIV) 
1:57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
60 but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61 They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John."
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
65 The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him. 

Matthew 1:18-24 (NIV)
¹⁸  This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
¹⁹  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
²⁰  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
²²  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³  "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
²⁴  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  

And later, Luke 2:21 (NIV) 

²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

Luke 2:33 (NIV) 

³³  The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 

Zechariah and Elizabeth believed God was at work and they expressed that oneness in naming  him John, as the Angel Gabriel had told Zechariah in the Temple.

Joseph and Mary walked out the public disgrace of having a child that couldn't be explained.  Joseph believed the Angel and named their Son, Jesus.

The point is, each couple came to a decision - that God was at work in their marriage.

That is an Advent challenge that goes well beyond Advent.  If you are married, can you believe that God has a work he wants to do through the two of you as a couple?  Do we believe that the "one flesh" that God said would be the mark of a God-marriage is still the goal we should strive for "in" our marriage? 

I am concerned as I see so many couples struggling to keep their marriage alive and with a desire to be a couple doing God's will together. It's become all to frequent that couples settle for being "married singles". Married? Yes, but only in ways that are legal and social...we live together, we share finances, we have a family to raise, we serve God, we even are intimate with each other...but, all of this is not leading to oneness and I've heard to many couples say "we're not together".

Elizabeth and Zechariah discover this oneness when they mutually together say "God has done this and therefore together we will walk this out in faith".  Joseph and Mary discover the oneness as they mutually agree that God is at work and they choose to walk this out in obedient faith.

Here's an idea that I believe is worth pursuing:   

In our Marriage we will strive to become Faith Partners - a couple who understand that God is at work in "them", to do and to will of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12,13).  If you are married, this is worth pursuing - to be "one" with God.

If you're not married, and would like to be, this is the mate you're looking for. One who strives for oneness with you in God. One who wants God to be the Lord of the marriage and Lord of living your marriage out in faith.

May Advent be for all of us who are married a time of renewal of being faith partners.  I close with two prayers, not one.

A Prayer:  (For those Married)  “Lord I ask that you knit my heart together with _________ (your spouse).  May we, like Elizabeth and Zechariah, Joseph and Mary, be able to work through the difficult areas of life with faith in you as the foundation of our marriage.  Help us to not succumb to merely living together, but instead to strive for oneness.  Lord, together help us to submit to you in all that we do. Amen.”

A Prayer: (For those Unmarried)  “Lord I ask that you help me to be a man/woman of faith as I wait for the one I will give my heart to.  Help me to BE a person of faith, even as I ask that you bring to me one who lives by faith in you alone.  Lord I trust you for the choice that I will make, but I know that the wisdom for that choice must come from you.  Help me to choose wisely, and live faithfully.  Amen.”