12 Lessons on Marriage: Lesson #8

It's Just A Metaphor

​​​​By: Jeff Pipe, PsyD

At the end of the day marriage is only a metaphor.  It’s not the end game.  The end game is your relationship with Christ.  He gave us marriage as a living illustration of His love for us. As such, it is a sacred institution to be honored, nurtured and protected.  However, there is no marriage or family in heaven - family is irrelevant there.  There is no need for a metaphor when you are in the arms of the actual.  Everything that your heart longs for in your marriage - to be known, enjoyed and accepted, the passion to be deeply connected to and cared for by another - will be fulfilled when you see Christ face-to-face.  There is no celestial sex or family in the new heaven and earth.  It’s the community of believers and God in the redeemed world/life He has for us.  So, even though the institution of marriage is of profound value and should be protected and nurtured in this life, it is only a means to an end and not an end in itself.  Divorce is not the unforgivable sin.  You are called to love your spouse more than you love your marriage.