A sharing by Samantha
Today is April 30th, and today marks the 12th anniversary of my marriage. Every year on this day, there is a bible verse that would appear in my head like a yearly alarm clock, which God has automatically set as a reminder. I think if I am not suffering from dementia or memory loss, this verse will continue to ring on time, a yearly alarm clock.
The verse is in the book of Galatians 5:13.
For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but humbly serve one another through love.
This verse was printed on my wedding booklet and our wedding rings.
Before I continue my sharing, I would like to highlight that “the freedom” in Galatians 5 refers to our salvations; God set us free by sending His only son, Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross, to free us from the yoke of slavery (Gal 5:1). Therefore, those who are baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is being freed from the bondage of sin, we are free from becoming the slave of the world and of the flesh and its desire.
Apostle Paul reminded us that we should walk by the Spirit instead of gratifying the desires of the flesh. In verse 19, it says that the acts of flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery (corruption); idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage (out of control / anger), selfish ambition, dissensions (dispute), factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies (excessive indulgence), and the like. Paul continues in verses 22 to 26, he mentioned about the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other.
So, when I read this chapter, I find that it is very relevant in relation to a marriage, not only marriage but in every relationships, between sisters, between brothers, between family members and even friends. We know that no one in the world is perfect except Christ, hence, even identical twins are different, all of us are different individuals, we have different brought up and experiences, we have different views and our struggles with sin are also different.
Therefore, about the marriage, here I am, a very imperfect woman and I married an imperfect guy. From the first day when we moved in as husband and wife, each of us brought in the imperfections into our marriage relationship. So, two very different individuals live together over the past 12 years, there were moments of intense conflicts and times when we were mad at each other, angry and unhappy because we both have things that we want and sometimes, we want to have things go our own way.
But no matter how mad and unhappy we have been, no matter how often we looked at each other and wondered why on earth I got into this marriage; no matter what, we got up the next morning and start another day together. We have promised from the day one, we would not carry our anger nor hold grudges till the next day, we will talk about it and resolve it before we sleep. And by God’s love and mercy, we managed to do it. We could have slandered against one another, we could have run away or betrayed the marriage, just like some of the people that I know, after few years of marriage, they were not happy and they just left and got divorced. The trend nowadays, marriage and divorce are just like a child play, a three second kind of thought, you can be married at this moment and if you change your mind after few seconds, you can easily get divorce.
Hence, I am thankful that God has been merciful and patience with both of us over the past 12 years. I know I have been slow and inconsistent in my faith, but I will continue to cling on to His promises to remain a faithful servant as I continue to serve my husband, our son, our families and the brothers and sisters in the church, so that, I will be able to see the rainbow at the end and a tiny place in His kingdom.
In Galatian 5: 14-15, Paul reminded us about the one important commandment: “Love your neighbour as yourself”. If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” A marriage relationship can build a person or it can destroy a person. The same goes with other relationships- between families, friends, brothers, and sisters in the church. The relationships that build without God’s love (on superficial love), without the heart to serve one another, these relationships will turn cold, like the apostle Paul said, we will be destroyed by each other.
Therefore, I truly pray and hope that this journey, whether it is between husbands and wives, or between parents and children, or between siblings, or between brothers and sisters, our belief and faith can be preserved as we continue to persevere and endure, as we walk hand in hand together, as we continue to serve one another, let us give our utmost devotions to our God, He who has first loved us. If we have lost our zeal, let us encourage one another again, to be one another’s keeper and let us restore that first love