{"id":307239,"date":"2021-09-23T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/marriage-the-mission-and-mystery\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T17:27:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:27:45","slug":"marriage-the-mission-and-mystery","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/marriage-the-mission-and-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"Marriage: The Mission and Mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seeing marriages fail can sometimes make a person wonder, &#8220;What&#8217;s the point?&#8221; Pastor and author Jonathan Pokluda clearly explains marriage&#8217;s purpose and design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/mp3.familylife.com\/fl2021-09-23.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:25:19","filesize":"23.18M","filesize_raw":"24302945","date_recorded":"2021-09-23 07:00:21","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2809,2810],"tags":[2877,5291,5008],"podcast_series":[8476],"cwp_profile":[9594],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-307239","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commitment","category-growing-spiritually","tag-marriage","tag-purpose","tag-relationship","podcast_series-marriage-handle-with-care","cwp_profile-jp-pokluda","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/307239\/marriage-the-mission-and-mystery","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/307239\/marriage-the-mission-and-mystery","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"w8y7zzlyDB\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/marriage-the-mission-and-mystery\/\">Marriage: The Mission and Mystery<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/marriage-the-mission-and-mystery\/embed\/#?secret=w8y7zzlyDB\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Marriage: The Mission and Mystery&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"w8y7zzlyDB\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Seeing marriages fail can sometimes make a person wonder, \"What's the point?\" Pastor and author Jonathan Pokluda clearly explains marriage's purpose and design.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2021-09-23.pdf","transcript_content":"<p><strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> This is my lot in life: to love her even as my own body for the rest of my days! That\u2019s what I\u2019m doing, right? So I\u2019m trying to identify her needs, anticipate her needs, and at every moment meet her needs however I can, laying my life down for her. That\u2019s my role, and in that the gospel is displayed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I\u2019m Ann Wilson.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> And I\u2019m Dave Wilson, and you can find us at FamilyLifeToday.com or on our FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> app.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Today we get to listen to part two of a great message from Jonathan Pokluda on marriage that he gave at his church, Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> He\u2019s a great friend. He\u2019s a really great communicator and preacher, too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. He got into some good stuff in part one. He talked about the s-word.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Submission.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Submission and sacrifice, actually. This next part is just as great. You\u2019re going to love it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[Recorded message]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> Verse 26, back in the Scriptures, says, \u201cTo make her holy . . .\u201d What\u2019s a word \u201cto make holy\u201d? If we said that one word, what would it be? To make holy? Sanctify, sanctification. It\u2019s a ten-cent seminary word that means to make holy. \u201c. . . cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for his body just as Christ does the church.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Back to Jesus and the church, guys! \u201cFor we are members of His body.\u201d It goes wives, husbands, marriage, Jesus, church, marriage, wives, husbands, marriage, Jesus, church, marriage\u2014he\u2019s talking about something more than what you think here! Marriage is different than what you think.<\/p>\n<p>When he says, \u201cWashing her as with water through the word,\u201d he\u2019s not talking about baptism, he\u2019s talking about the Word of God, the gospel implanted in us but also the Word, the 66 books that God has left us with to give us all of the instruction that we need for godliness: the Scriptures, the Bible.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s interesting to me is sometimes this idea of women submit, men sacrifice, I think it\u2019s reverse. Sometimes I think as guys we\u2019re better at submitting, and it looks like abdicating. She\u2019s asking me, \u201cHey, how much do we want to give to Midway schools?\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cI don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t care. Can you just figure it out? Can you just handle that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When she\u2019s saying, \u201cHey, will you partner with me in this? Will you take an interest in what I\u2019m doing right here? I have to make a decision here, and what I\u2019m really telling you is I prefer not to make it by myself\u2014\u201d \u201cCan you just go?\u201d Women are so great at sacrificing, generally speaking. They\u2019re like, \u201cI\u2019ll give up everything. I\u2019ll follow you. Let\u2019s go. What do you want? What do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But I think the roles are different because God wants to produce something different in us: sanctification. The mission of marriage is sanctification through service. Sanctification means becoming holy. Bruno Mars says, \u201cI love you just the way you are.\u201d We all like that. \u201cOh, somebody that just takes me right where I am!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I will tell you, in this church, you\u2019re welcome; everybody\u2019s welcome. There\u2019s not anybody on the planet earth that\u2019s not welcome in here. No matter where you are, no matter what your struggle is, you are welcome. But if you\u2019re like, \u201cAre you going to ask me to change?\u201d Of course! That\u2019s why you would come in here: because you desire to grow in holiness, to become more like God. We all are on that mission. We\u2019re all changing.<\/p>\n<p>Sanctification means changing, so don\u2019t marry them hoping that they\u2019ll change, that they\u2019ll become someone else. You could choose anyone that you want. You have the whole world to choose who you\u2019re going to marry. People do change, sometimes, in ways that you didn\u2019t want.<\/p>\n<p>A friend of mine who I tremendously respect their perspective on this topic, they\u2019ve wrestled with this as much as anyone I know, and they said this: Don\u2019t go into it (that is, marriage) thinking you can change someone. If you\u2019re already there (meaning in marriage), let go of thinking you can change your spouse. Only God can change their heart, but they have to want it, so your role is a lot of prayer\u2014not an effort to change them, but a lot of prayer.<\/p>\n<p>We see this in 1 Corinthians 7. We really see it throughout the Scriptures\u20141 Peter. This concept of trusting God to do the changing radically changed my marriage, because I went into marriage and I thought\u2014year one was the honeymoon, it was all fun; year two it got hard, and I thought, <em>My role is I\u2019m the parent. Leadership means telling people what to do<\/em>, is what I thought\u2014what I stupidly thought.<\/p>\n<p>What would happen was we were constantly playing tug of war. She would say something, I would say, \u201cYou\u2019re not going to do that,\u201d and she\u2019d pull the rope and I\u2019d pull the rope. We would just go back and forth playing tug of war.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll give you a real example. It\u2019s a silly example, but it actually happened. She came and she said, \u201cHoney, I think I need a new car.\u201d The way I responded to that was, \u201cWhat? We\u2019re not going to get you a new car!\u201d When I do this thing with my eyebrows . . . . Here\u2019s what she would hear: \u201cYou\u2019re so stupid! You think we\u2019re actually going to get you a new car? What is wrong with you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What she would do is she would go, \u201cWell, that\u2019s what I really want,\u201d and she\u2019d pull the rope. I would say, \u201cOh, that\u2019s because you\u2019re not going to get one.\u201d I\u2019d pull the rope. We\u2019d go back and forth, back and forth.<\/p>\n<p>One day I was studying the Word, and it was like the Lord just revealed to me through His Word, \u201cWait, she has the Holy Spirit. She\u2019s one of the surest voices of me in your life. She\u2019s my provision to you, and you don\u2019t have all things figured out. You have no idea what I want to do. You have my revealed will, but you don\u2019t have my mysterious will. She\u2019s the way that I\u2019m going to make known to you my mysterious will. You need to listen to her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What that gave me the freedom to you in that really silly scenario is when she says, \u201cHey, I\u2019d really like a new car,\u201d I don\u2019t have to parent, if you will. I can say, \u201cReally? What kind of car? Let\u2019s think about it, let\u2019s dream. What kind of car do you want? Oh, a Suburban? What color? Black? Yes, CIA\u2014let\u2019s go. What color interior? Oh, light, because we\u2019re in Texas and it\u2019s hot. Yes. Leather, probably, too. That would be fun.\u201d We can get excited about it. Maybe at the end of it you\u2019re like, \u201cI don\u2019t know that we can afford that, but because that\u2019s what you want, let me go look. Let me do the research. Let me listen. Let me dive in.\u201d Now she feels loved.<\/p>\n<p>Even if I come to that scenario and I\u2019m like, \u201cHey, I don\u2019t think we can do that,\u201d just the fact that I would put in the work and listen to her, she feels cared for.<\/p>\n<p>We all can do that, and we did it when we were dating, and at some point the flower died, so we serve each other. It says, \u201c. . . love even as their own bodies . . .\u201d What does that mean? When my body\u2019s hungry, what do I do? I eat. I find food. So to love her\u2014when I feel hunger pangs, my body\u2019s sending a signal, there\u2019s a light flashing. \u201cHey, you\u2019re hungry; you need to eat.\u201d So I do that. But now these two have become one flesh. Her life has melded into mine, right? Melded into mine, melted into mine. So now I\u2019m seeking her best interests.<\/p>\n<p>Let me tell you what this looks like for me. I love to sleep, right? When it\u2019s bedtime, I\u2019m kind of obsessed with getting a good night\u2019s sleep so that I can attack the day the next day. So I\u2019m counting my hours, all of that stuff. I like it when it\u2019s cold, so right now when it\u2019s cold outside, that\u2019s the perfect time. I love that we have one of those foam mattresses. I get all snuggled up in there; I have a down comforter, it\u2019s amazing. I\u2019m snuggled up in there, the temperature\u2019s set just right, and she gets in bed and we\u2019re in bed and we say our prayers together, and I\u2019m out. I\u2019m sleeping. I\u2019m already dreaming, you know. I\u2019m there. And she\u2019s like, \u201cHey, babe . . .\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>[Studio]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> You know, you do the same thing. We\u2019ve been listening to Jonathan Pokluda talk about marriage from Ephesians 5 at his church, but I have to ask you, why? I mean, I go to bed before you, I\u2019m knocked out, and it\u2019s almost like, \u201cAre you asleep?\u201d Yes, of course I\u2019m asleep!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> I don\u2019t even know how you fall asleep that quickly. As women, we have things on our minds! We have things we\u2019re going through. I\u2019ll say this to you, too. I\u2019ll be in bed and all of a sudden I\u2019ll say, \u201cHey babe, did you hear that?\u201d You\u2019re asleep.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> Of course I didn\u2019t hear it, I\u2019m asleep.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> You so sweetly get up and check out what that noise was. You are living the gospel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> I guess I am. Don\u2019t forget this\u2014J.P. will be speaking on the <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em> cruise this February.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ann:<\/strong> Yes, come on the cruise with us! We want you to come.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dave:<\/strong> In fact, if you sign up now you get a special discount, because you don\u2019t want to miss it. There will be speakers like J.P. and others, and it\u2019s a fabulous week.<\/p>\n<p>Alright, let\u2019s go back and hear the rest of this great message.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[Recorded message]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jonathan:<\/strong> \u201cHey, babe . . .\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s that, \u201cHey, babe.\u201d It\u2019s always like, ah! [Laughter] \u201cHey, babe, are you sleeping?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, what\u2019s up? What you need? What\u2019s going on? What you got?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m thirsty.\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s interesting.\u201d [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s thirsty, right? So for me to love her as my own body, I\u2019m out of bed and I\u2019m getting some water because she\u2019s thirsty, and this is my lot in life, to love her even as my own body for the rest of my days! That\u2019s what I\u2019m doing, right? So I\u2019m trying to identify her needs, anticipate her needs, and at every moment meet her needs however I can, laying my life down for her. That\u2019s my role, and in that\u2014standing at the refrigerator when I want to be sleeping, getting some water, trying not to wake the kids with the ice machine\u2014the gospel is displayed. In a tiny way, the gospel is displayed.<\/p>\n<p>I will tell you, if you don\u2019t like to serve, you will not like marriage; and if you don\u2019t want to change, you will not like marriage; because both of those are in the mission of marriage. I will tell you something\u2014you have to hear me on this, men\u2014she\u2019s like the smoke alarm of your home. Long before anyone sees the fire, there\u2019s smoke. Maybe you can\u2019t smell the smoke; hopefully before anyone can smell the smoke the smoke alarm can, and it begins to beep.<\/p>\n<p>You may not see that anything\u2019s wrong, but that\u2019s when you listen in and you start doing your research. What\u2019s bothering her? I don\u2019t see it, she\u2019s not able to explain it; there\u2019s something going on, but she\u2019s beeping, and I need to just stop and look around, because she can sense things. I don\u2019t get it. I don\u2019t know why God made us this way, but she can sense things before I can.<\/p>\n<p>So when she\u2019s beeping, I need to stop everything and think, \u201cOkay, what is it? Is this school, is it kids, is it finances, is it work? Am I gone too much? Have I not sought to understand in this season? Have I been short? What is it?\u201d Listen, listen, listen; ask good questions and listen. Don\u2019t give defensive; sit on your hands and listen, because she\u2019s like the smoke alarm.<\/p>\n<p>Women, I have to tell you something. Guys, I don\u2019t know if we can put ear muffs on this. Men seem to\u2014we\u2019re more likely to be like, \u201cHey, did you hear him?\u201d So just try to tune me out on this, because I want to talk to the ladies for a second. [Laughter]<\/p>\n<p>Women, there\u2019s nothing more annoying in the world than a smoke alarm going off for no reason. I mean, anybody been there? In the middle of the night, it\u2019s the battery, right? It\u2019s going off, but there\u2019s no fire, there\u2019s no smoke, and it\u2019s just beeping. So just stop, slow down, and say, \u201cHey, what\u2019s really bothering me?\u201d Try to get your arms around it.<\/p>\n<p>That may take a quiet time. You may feel something, you may sense something, but you\u2019re not exactly sure what it is. Go get a quiet time, sit down, get a journal, begin to write, begin to think, so that when you call him you can say, \u201cHey, here\u2019s what\u2019s bothering me right now.\u201d You\u2019re able to articulate it in such a way that we\u2019re not going from smoke alarm, smoke alarm, smoke alarm trying to figure it out if it\u2019s the battery or is one of the wires disconnected and now they\u2019re all linked together, or maybe it\u2019s one in the drawer. I don\u2019t even know, you know, and it\u2019s late. So just know that. Try to understand what\u2019s wrong before you bring it.<\/p>\n<p>For this reason, something you can ask tonight is, \u201cWhere am I not meeting your needs?\u201d \u201cFor this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a great book out there called <em>Love &amp; Respect<\/em>; I commend it to you, but if you don\u2019t read it I can summarize the entire book, that women want to feel loved and men want to feel respected. There\u2019s this idea that Paul and the Holy Spirit through Paul is giving a full picture, too, that marriage is about this profound mystery of Christ and the church. I don\u2019t know that we really can clearly articulate that.<\/p>\n<p>You didn\u2019t come in here and when someone says, \u201cWhat is marriage?\u201d you didn\u2019t say, \u201cOh, it\u2019s a profound mystery about Christ and the church.\u201d Most of us, when we think about marriage, we think about Hollywood taught us, what the world taught us, what others have taught us. But the mystery of marriage is this: it showcases the Savior. The mystery of marriage is that it showcases the Savior.<\/p>\n<p>In ancient Jewish traditions, a Hebrew boy, when he was ready for marriage, he would be at his father\u2019s house, and what he would do is he would leave his father\u2019s house, he would go into other cities, other communities, far-away lands, and he would begin to look for a wife. When he would find a suitable wife for himself, his dad would come behind him and pay what was called the dowry. They would sip from the same cup, a toast of sorts, and they would be betrothed to one another. Then what he would do was he would return to his father\u2019s house, and he would begin to build a room on his father\u2019s house called the bridal chamber, a room for them to live in.<\/p>\n<p>She doesn\u2019t know when he\u2019s going to return for her, at an hour and a time that she does not know, but it\u2019s whenever he finishes this room. So what she\u2019s doing is she\u2019s not out continuing to interview guys or do other things, she\u2019s getting her wedding party together, her bridesmaids, if you will. She\u2019s making a dress, she\u2019s making all the preparations for the wedding. Then when he\u2019s done with that room and he gets his boys, his groomsmen, if you will (this is thousands of years ago, even), and then he begins to go to that faraway land.<\/p>\n<p>They didn\u2019t have text message or phone calls or even letters at this time, so the way they would send word is they would just yell out in front of you; you\u2019d blast a trumpet, and you\u2019d say, \u201cHey, John is coming for Jane! John is pursuing Jane!\u201d That word would go in front of them from town to town. They\u2019d blast trumpets and they\u2019d yell, and they would go from city to city until they get to this faraway land where his wife was.<\/p>\n<p>When that word would get to her, she would grab her girls, she\u2019d grab her dress, she\u2019d grab the preparations, and they would go back together to that bridal chamber, and they would be in there for seven days. Meanwhile there\u2019s a party going on outside. Seven days later, he would present his bride to his family for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>So when Jesus says, \u201cWhere I am going you will follow, but I\u2019m going to prepare a place for you. In my Father\u2019s house there are many rooms, and I will return for my bride,\u201d it means something so much more than we think. There\u2019s this profound mystery in marriage, where the gospel\u2019s displayed.<\/p>\n<p>The entire Bible has two very important messages. It starts with one in the first chapter of the first book in the Bible. Genesis 1:26 says, \u201cGod said, \u2018Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness.\u2019 So God created mankind in His own image; in the image of God he created them, male and female He created them.\u201d It goes on to say, \u201cThat is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and the two become one flesh.\u201d That\u2019s the first wedding. The first wedding ever, in the history of history, and it was a temporary wedding.<\/p>\n<p>Then the whole Bible, these 66 books, ends with another wedding. It\u2019s a different wedding; it\u2019s a permanent wedding, one that lasts forever. Revelation 19 says, \u201cLet us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory, for the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.\u201d Chapter 21: \u201cOne of the seven angels who had seven bowls full of seven plagues came and said to me, \u2018Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So this Book where we learn everything we need to know about God, or what it tells us about God, the gospel, it starts with a wedding (a temporary wedding) and it ends with a wedding (a permanent wedding), and most of us will be part of both of those kinds of weddings. But anyone who\u2019s trusted in Christ will certainly be a part of this permanent one, the one that lasts forever. That\u2019s us. Husband and wife, male and female, boy and girl, married to our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. And marriage showcases this reality in ways that I can\u2019t fully comprehend.<\/p>\n<p>But when you think about who\u2019s teaching you about marriage, you have to start with Jesus, because the mandates of marriage are submission and sacrifice, the mission of marriage is sanctification through service, and the mystery of marriage is it showcases the Savior. What God\u2019s going to do is He\u2019s going to create a marriage that\u2019s unbreakable, one that\u2019s permanent, that lasts forever. All we know is people that do this\u2014oil and water repel each other. The oil\u2014do you see how it\u2019s separated again? Even after we mixed it up, it separated.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s interesting is you know what the two primary ingredients of mayonnaise is? Anybody know? Oil and water. Somehow they\u2019ve figured out how to make them stick and not separate in that jar. Anybody know what it requires? An emulsifier. An emulsifier takes one of those water molecules and one of those oil molecules and it bonds them together. In mayonnaise, the emulsifier is eggs. There\u2019s something about eggs that takes water and takes oil and bonds those molecules together, so that it doesn\u2019t separate.<\/p>\n<p>In marriage, the emulsifier is Christ. You will not have a marriage as God has intended without Christ being at the center of it. It is impossible. God who invented marriage, the one who invented it and told us what it is, told us what it looks like\u2014you can\u2019t have it without Jesus.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[Studio]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bob:<\/strong> I sat recently with a couple who have been married for more than three decades. They\u2019re professional people, their children are grown, and their marriage is in a tough spot. They\u2019ve lost hope that it can be better. But as we\u2019ve heard today from Jonathan Pokluda if Christ is in the center of a marriage there is reason for hope. He can bring beauty from ashes, He can restore what the locusts have eaten.<\/p>\n<p>If you are interested in hearing Jonathan Pokluda\u2019s complete message, it\u2019s available on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com. You can download the podcast.<\/p>\n<p>Jonathan is going to be joining us in February on the <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em> marriage cruise that is setting sail from Port Canaveral. Last year we were not able to cruise because of COVID, we had a virtual cruise; but this year we\u2019re back on board and all heading out into the Caribbean for a great week away, where we can focus on one another, we can draw closer to each other, draw closer to God. There\u2019s a great lineup of speakers on the cruise, including Dave and Ann Wilson, the Kendrick brothers, Dr. Juli Slattery, Ron Deal; others, like Jonathan Pokluda, who are going to be joining us. We\u2019d love to have you join us as well.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, we have a special offer for <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> listeners right now. You can save money on your stateroom if you sign up between now and October 4<sup>th<\/sup>. The cruise is filling up quickly, so let me encourage you, if you\u2019d like to join us, now is the time to get in touch with us. Call 1-800-FLTODAY to find out more or to register for the cruise, or again, go online at FamilyLifeToday.com for more information.<\/p>\n<p>Safety protocols are in place, cruising is happening again, it\u2019s safe to be back on board a ship, so we\u2019d love to have you join us. Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information, or call 1-800-FLTODAY if you have any questions. We hope to see you on the <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em> marriage cruise in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Now, tomorrow we\u2019re going to hear a message from filmmaker Alex Kendrick, who, as I said, is going to be joining us on the <em>Love Like You Mean It<\/em> marriage cruise in 2022. Alex shares with us tomorrow about how the relationship between God and His people gives us a picture, a template to follow in our relationship with one another in marriage. That comes up tomorrow; hope you can tune in for that.<\/p>\n<p>On behalf of our hosts, Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We will see you back tomorrow for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife; a Cru<sup>\u00ae <\/sup>Ministry.<\/p>\n<p>Helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?<\/p>\n<p>Copyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2021 FamilyLife. 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