I normally like to post a picture with these blogs but I couldn't find the one I want. It was a picture of a husband and wife, the husband had a sword in hand and the wife a trowel. A beautiful picture of Nehemiah 4 where Nehemiah had posted families along the wall building with sword in hand. So try to picture that if you can.
I'm often amazed by the verse above, especially when I realized these were the first words God spoke to the first married couple, Adam and Eve. You could say that God was stating the purpose for marriage. Hmmm purpose? What is the purpose of your marriage? Let's see what God's original design was.
I think it is pretty simple to grasp the fruitful part of the statement. We are supposed to have kidos right? Yeah but even further our marriages are supposed to be fruitful...not just birthing and raising physical children but spiritual children as well! That means shining the light of Christ in a lost world as a married couple so that spiritual children will be brought into the world. It also means discipling or counseling younger people and couples to raise spiritual children.
But the subdue part...what does that mean? If you look it up in good ol' Webster you'll find words like conquer, bring under control, tone down in other words bring order where there is messiness. Well what does THAT mean? For Adam and Eve I think it meant naming animals, exploring rivers, maybe even mapping Eden. See God had created the earth but it was less than tame...there was still some work he wanted the first couple to do...bring order.
For us post-fall it becomes even more treacherous. The messiness has become increased and intensified by sin entering the world. The list of messes all around us can be overwhelming at times marital trouble, divorces, fears, illnesses, hunger, homelessness, poverty. It's enough to make most of us hide in our homes and God would say, "subdue the earth".
How can we as Christian married couples "subdue the earth"? Here's a small list to start with:
- Start at home - what messes do you have going in your home? How can we subdue the earth together if we aren't...together. Bring those messes to the Lord and hash it out with your spouse, subdue them! Check out James 4:9-10.
- Share your story - what has God brought you through as a married couple? Share it with others (Christian and non-Christian) as vulnerably as you possibly can praying that God would use your testimony.
- Support each other's gifts - in general men will want to bring organizational order and women will want to bring relational order. Go with that and serve the church, in the workplace, in the neighborhood. All of these places need your gifts!
Truth is as one author said (paraphrase) a marriage is only as good as its purpose. Or in the words of our Lord, "seek first the kingdom of God...and all these things will be added to you." (Mttw 6:33 pz paraphrase) If the purpose for your marriage is the kingdom of God a great deal of our other problems will be taken care of! I know for Linda and I as we focus on the goal of furthering God's kingdom many of the other issues we deal with seem so small.
Subdue the earth couples!
(-adapted from Intimate Allies by Allender & Longman)
Post a Comment