I am often reminded of the the fact that my marriage bears witness to the gospel of Christ. The command in Ephesians is straightforward: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Eph 5:25). It is one thing for me to know that, preach that and have that as the standard of a gospel centered marriage. But how does it look practically in the grit of life? A situation I encountered last week was remarkable and a demonstration of how it looks lived out.
Me and a couple of friends planned on having a breakfast meeting. Our intention was to use this opportunity for evangelism and share Christ with someone that morning. My one friend got a call from his wife as he was on the way to breakfast informing him that a raccoon was in front of the door of their home as she left for work. She was concerned that it may attack some of their pets outside. Now as the husband that I am, I would have told her not to worry, that she is overreacting and everything will be fine--the raccoon will eventually leave. My friend did the opposite: he said that he needed to go back home and "take care" (euphemism for take his 12 gauge) of the raccoon. This was 1 Peter 3:7 lived out, living with your wife in and understanding way. The Lord will hear this man's prayers since he shot the raccoon. Understanding love is often washing the dishes when I don't want to, watching the kids at times so my wife can have a break, listening to her instead of watching two football games equaling six hours of my time, or even shooting the raccoon when it is at the front door.
