
Before our sabbatical, Ruth and I spent time talking with colleagues and advisers about what the Lord might want to do during our sabbatical.
In a session of prayer ministry I was receiving from some trusted friends, one of them had a picture for us. The picture was of Ruth and I riding a tandem bicycle together. I was up front, focused on where we were going and attempting to ride as fast as possible to get there. Ruth was sat on the back seat, smiling and waving at passers-by, and generally enjoying the ride rather more!
Those of you that know us, even superficially, will know that this is a very apt description of our relationship!
As we talked and prayed about what God might be saying to us through this picture, we saw afresh that God had designed us as a team. Our strength and weaknesses are well complemented by each other. However, it's not just a complementarity of function that God wants; there is more to Christian marriage than that.
Pope John Paul II famously said, "marriage is the least inadequate analogy to depict our relationship with God." Peter Scazzero, in his book The Emotionally Healthy Leader, says "[If married,] marriage is your loudest gospel message. A Christian marriage points beyond itself to something more important - to Christ. … You must move from a non-vocational view of leadership (I am a leader who happens to be married) to a vocational view (I lead out of my marriage.)"
Ruth and I have started to talk more, pray together more, consult each other more, to benefit from the differing perspectives and gifts we each bring. We have been refreshed in our understanding of our marriage, our family and our home as the base for our ministry, as we seek to be spiritual parents to many in the church.
And this call is not just for marrieds. Scazzero again: "Our whole life is to bear witness to God's love for the world. But we do so in different ways as married or singles. Married couples bear witness to the depths of Christ's love; their marriage vows focus and limit them to loving one person exclusively, permanently, and intimately. Singles bear witness to the breadth of Christ's love; because they are not limited by a vow to one person, they have more freedom and time to express the love of Christ to a broad range of people. Both need to learn from one another about these different aspects of Christ's love."
What about you? If married, is your marriage your loudest gospel message, an analogy depicting our relationship with God? If single, how are you investing in community, and cultivating close companions for the journey?