wondering induced by paint fumes.

I wonder if all the marriage books ever written are wrong. I have read a bazillion of them, they all say what to do and what not to do. There's everything from knowing your love language to how you are like food. Generalizing? Totally. Sorry? Nope.

What if you only have one marriage book, and the title doesn't even have the name of a planet in it? The only book your ever allowed to read is inspired by the One who created marriage in the first place. Wouldn't you do everything you could to get you hands on that book? The book with all the inspiration you need to be a great spouse? This book that will snap you into a reality that you never even knew existed. A whole new playing field in the life of your marriage. The book of course is the Bible.

However, it's a big book, so let's pretend you can only read Revelation. Yah, the confusing one at the end of the book, in my opinion, marriage is sometimes confusing.. so reading Revelation with your "marriage" glasses on isn't a far stretch.

Let's start with the groom. He officially comes riding a white horse and bears a name on His thigh.. "King of kings, and Lord of Lords."  He's dressed in full war regalia and he's got one thing on His mind... Claiming what is His, and that's us.

Us. All of us who are called. From every corner of the world, in every language and in every color. His bride is the Church.

I have friends who I look at and wonder, "those two are so opposite, I don't know how they ever were attracted to each other."  In fact, there is truth I'm sure to the whole " you marry your opposite." or even "opposite attract."  statements.  Eve was created when God felt the need that Adam needed a helper... right?

I wanna be be be like Jesus.. know that song? Isn't the whole culture goal of Church nowadays to be like Jesus in every way? Living Inside out? Dying to self, allowing Christ to live in you.. it's all the same. An effort to live life thats not of this world. I confess, its a daily struggle, to be like Christ.

If the goal is for the Church to be like Christ, spotless and blameless, so the wedding can happen... Wouldn't the goal of an earthly marriage be defined as becoming more like each other through Christ? To celebrate what makes us the same? Individuality may have no place in a marriage. Just as it has no place at the wedding of the ages between the King of kings and His bride, the Church. It's the lives of many being one together, despite the outside differences.

Perhaps I ask too many questions and then get lost in the details of fleshing the answer out. Perhaps the paint fumes of creating lovelies have gotten to my brain cells.

Or perhaps.. I'm just now after 16 years of marriage learning to be married, for the right reasons.