Marriage and Electric Vehicles

My wife and I have the opportunity to attend a marriage conference. The conference is a little over seventy miles away from where we live and I drive an electric vehicle.  The range on my car is a little over one hundred miles but that is if you drive at a reasonable speed (which means under the speed limit) and it is completely flat (which it was not) and there is no wind (which there was a lot). When I placed the address of the conference in the cars navigational system it said we would not make it on a single charge and would need to find a place to charge along the way. We took the cars advice, found a free charging station along they way, and sat and waited a little to charge the car enough to get us the rest of the way.
Marriage and electric vehicles have something in common. You need power to drive an electric vehicle just like you need Jesus Christ at the center of your marriage to glorify God in it.
You can have a good marriage and not have Christ at the center but you will not be able to fully obtain the greatness that comes with marriage. I know couples that are happily married and have been for many years and they are not believers. I also know some that aren’t so happy. Marriage though is not about happiness. It is about something more and greater. Happiness will stimulate the marriage until some other circumstance takes place and robs you of that happiness. Happiness is fickle and unreliable. Just like my car which needs electricity to thrive marriage needs to be based on something greater than just likes and dislikes it must have Christ be the focal point.
The marriage relationship is pointing to something greater
Marriage is not about me, it is not even about my wife. It is about Christ. The Bible points out that the closes relationship that we can have to demonstrate God’s relationship with us is in marriage. Marriage should be a reflection of Christ’s love for the church (Ephesians 5:22-31). But, many times marriage may be defined by something else. Yes you can have common interests, serving one another, and love be motivating factors in marriage but a holy marriage is looking to how Christ served the church, loved the church, sacrificed for the church. The aim in marriage is not just for the husband and wife but it is an earthly relationship that powerfully points to Christ. There is something greater that can be demonstrated in marriage and that is the example of our loving savior who died on our behalf on the cross.
The marriage relationship that is centered on Christ. Through marriage sin is revealed grace can be illuminated. Through pursuing holiness in marriage, we can have a happy marriage.
The marriage relationship must continually look to the Gospel
Just like I do not charge my car just one time and I am good forever. I eventually will need to charge my car. In fact with an electric vehicle you cannot drive that far without needing to charge the car. I have a short driving radius and am dependent upon electricity.
My marriage constantly must look to the Gospel. Daily we both need to look to Jesus, die to self, and reflect on God’s grace. Daily we must remind ourselves that marriage is pointing to something greater than ourselves and even marriage itself.
I write this as a reminder to myself as I can easily overlook this fact. I am sinner who is selfish. I like myself too much. The reminder is it’s not about me or even about Alyssa but about Jesus Christ. Our motivation must be about serving Him as marriage is a reflection of his love for us the church.