Marriage & Ministry – Marriage IS Ministry

I’ve only been married about a minute (ok, it’s actually been a few months)…
That said, I don’t claim to be an expert in marriage…or ministry.

But I do know quite a bit about both, from education and experience.

With the upcoming (and now recent) nuptials coming up, I have been toying with a post regarding being married and being in ministry. Along with my ever evolving vision for what I do and how I do it, I realized some of my readers would be interested in perspectives regarding the topic, since I’m talking to other women like myself in all phases of life and ministry.

Then, as I have been thinking of it, something recently struck me.

Over the few months, I have come to be quite aware of a fact:

Marriage is ministry.

Anyone who doesn’t think this either hasn’t been married, or maybe isn’t as fully fulfilled in their marriage as they could be.

Again, I know I’m new to the game, but it is clear from scripture, God intended marriage as a form of ministry:

• It isn’t good for man to be alone
• God created partners (help-meets)
• Two become one
• They leave their households and cling together
• They must be in mutual submission, yet respecting God’s order
• Both play a role in the household order
• The marriage is a picture of the Kingdom, which is about service

If each partner is only selfishly looking after their own needs, that isn’t a satisfied marriage. If one partner is willing and one will not yield, that isn’t service or sacrifice. That’s not love.

Marriage is meant to be both partners looking for the good for the other, the good of the relationship and how to honor God in the partnership.

It as also become apparent to me from all my studies and amplified recently: people are right, marriage is not 50/50, it is 100/100. It regularly adds up to 200%, because sometimes one partner can only give a certain amount, and the other picks up the slack.

For example, if I have a migraine, and simply cannot give my all, he steps up. When he has homework, and needs to focus on that, I am his cheerleader, and I keep up with whatever needs to get done.

Teamwork of any kind is about the needs of the team first, and then the individual.  Ministry is about service.

Both of these are especially true in marriage.

As for marriage & ministry, that is going to be a post for another day.

Because, I am really sitting in and learning and absorbing that

Marriage is ministry…