Marriage with a Mission

I awoke at 4:30 yesterday morning at a Hampton Inn near the Cleveland airport, to see for the first time, my wife sleeping ever so soundly next to me. We had an 8:30 flight out of Cleveland, but the excitement of marriage was to much to keep me asleep until our scheduled wake up call at 6:15. I am now at 22, a husband. The past few days, the Lord has spoken some things to me that I have only been able to understand in this stage of my life. Like I said in the first post, marriage has become so tainted from its original intentions in our culture. The Christian culture of our country even has its own, seemingly biblical, but very self-focused view of marriage. I have been reading over Ephesians 5 the past few days and Paul so blatantly states the purpose of marriage as God originally indented. Whitney and I are to represent the relationship of Christ and his Bride, the Church. The love we share is just a mere shadow of God's love for us in Christ. The Lord has been speaking to me that as the head of my wife, we are to live by faith with mission. When I was still engaged to Whitney, I really struggled with the practice of living missionally. I was fearful to initiate potentially awakward conversation with friends or strangers for the hope of being a witness for Christ. I was heavily convicted of this as we drove up to Cleveland after the wedding. So as we are on our honeymoon, we have decided to make the most of any opportunity the Lord gives us to be His witness. We don't want to live in fear of man, but want to live with the hope that the Lord can use us to spread His gospel and love people. Here are a few interactions I have been able to have since we arrived in Colorado. I praise God for these because without the power of His Spirit, I would be unable and fearful to follow through with the commands Christ gives every believer to always be ready to give an answer to the hope that we have. 

I want to share an interaction we had that challenged me to put my faith into action

Sunday Morning 

We were picked up from the hotel by the airport shuttle. It was 7:00 and Whitney and I were the only people riding to the airport. A foreign man was the shuttle driver and he had a welcoming persona about him. His name was Stefan.  I asked him a few questions about where he was from and how long he had been living in the states.  It turns out he grew up in the former Yugoslavia and moved to America not long ago. My parents had done some missions work in Yugoslavia as english teachers and when I mentioned that, I could tell there was more of a connection between us.  I think Stefan was surprised someone as young as i am, let alone an American, knew of the country of Yugoslavia.  As we continued talking, I felt that I needed to share the gospel with him in some way, or at least find out if he had ever heard of Christ.  Since it was a Sunday, I asked him it was hard working on a Sunday morning with his family at home and if they usually go to church.  Stefan said they didn't, so I asked him if he had ever heard about the good news of Jesus Christ.  He said he had heard a little about it in the Roman Orthodox Church, but not much.  We arrived at the airport and knowing he had to get back to his next pick up, I asked him if we will see him in heaven.  He responded "I hope so".  So. I briefly shared with him the assurance we can have in Christ that we are saved from our sin. 

 I don't know if I will ever see Stefan again, but I know God used us in some way. This interaction with him was so refreshing and exciting.  I felt like I was living my faith.  Like I said earlier, it's probably been years since I shared the gospel with someone.  I think it's sad that something so central to our faith often goes missed in our lives.  Sharing the gospel is something i think scripture teaches should be part of our daily Christian life, not a rare circumstance or "cool experience".  I am challenged to make this more a more consistent part of my faith.

JN

together for His glory

We live in a day and a culture where marriage, the bond that has held society together for thousands of years, is being downplayed, devalued, and redefined. What was once an ultimate and lasting commitment has become a mere flippant choice that can be undone as easily as it was made. Whitney and my hope in and for this marriage, to live together for His glory, goes against everything that our culture stands for. In a way we are crazy for choosing this so young. Me, at 22, choosing to forgo unrestrained fun and pleasure of the world for the responsibility of caring for another seems absurd. But in another very real way, it is completely rational. Thousands of years ago, God declared

"man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

As Whitney and I have chosen to commit to following Christ, we have chosen to commit to each other. We want to be obedient to the command of God and we want to share our journey in following Christ. This blog is our way of giving you a window into our lives, as we live together for His glory.