For many, the sole purpose of marriage is to merely have a regular companion to hang out with, someone to help pay the bills, and someone to help with the household chores. While these are wonderful benefits of marriage, your marriage is part of a much larger story.
Knowing why your marriage exists and its purpose helps to navigate the many seasons and storms of life.
We can see this with other institutions as well. For example, a coffee shop exists to make a decent cup of coffee. On the other hand, a hospital exists to meet the medical needs of its community.
A coffee shop does not have to worry about the latest medical advances because that is not why it exists. As such, it is free to focus on making a quality cup of coffee. Likewise, a hospital does not spend time worrying about brewing the perfect cup of coffee because that is not why it exists. It is free to focus on providing excellent medical care.
Knowing the purpose of our marriage helps to focus our energy, our attention, and the activities we engage in as a couple. It anchors our marriage through the ups and downs, twists and turns of life.
Difficulties such as financial hardships, sexual problems, and issues with in-laws are less likely to take us out when we are fiercely committed to accomplishing our mission. We are also less likely to drift apart with meaningless activities when we have a larger purpose to center and direct the course of our relationship.
Problems will still come and distractions will still be prevalent. However, knowing our purpose helps us to view these things from a larger perspective and to discern what actually matters in the long run.
Consider the following in discovering the purpose and mission for your marriage:
Where do you Connect?
You connect with a unique combination of people, places, and things. Consider your place of work and worship, your city and neighborhood, as well as your many friends and family members. Your purpose is likely linked to these many connections.
What are you Compassionate about?
As you connect with the world around you, what concerns you? Do you have a heart for social justice or humanitarian efforts, or maybe mentoring the neighborhood youth or providing educational opportunities for your community? What stories tug at your heartstrings? Where do you long to see the glory of God displayed more fully?
How can you Contribute?
Finally, how can you use your talents, gifts, and abilities to contribute to those issues you are compassionate about? How can you personally make a difference to the world around you?
It is often helpful to answer these questions individually first, and then as a couple. Your two individual missions can then unite into one larger mission for the marriage.
Previous posts have addressed the need to have an inward focus in marriage and also the value of maintaining an inclusive and an exclusive orientation in marriage.
Discovering the purpose of our marriage allows us to develop an outward, mission oriented focus; there is much more to our marriage than merely a cure for loneliness.
This larger purpose can also be seen in the relationship between Christ and the church, as together they make known the deep wisdom and abundant love of God to the world (Ephesians 3:10-11).
What is the purpose of your marriage? Why does it exist? Why has God brought the two of you together? What is the Divine Assignment God has called your marriage to?
Editor’s Note: Republished on FamilyLife Canada
