The Marriage Metaphor

<p>After twenty-two years together, I sometimes wonder how my marriage to Merryn works. I&rsquo;m a writer, Merryn is a statistician; I work with words, she works with numbers. I want beauty, she wants function. We come from different worlds.</p> <p>Merryn arrives to appointments early, I&rsquo;m occasionally late. I try new things on the menu, she orders the same. After twenty minutes at an art gallery I&rsquo;m just getting started, while Merryn is already in the cafe downstairs wondering how much longer I&rsquo;ll be. We give each other many opportunities to learn patience!</p> <p>We do have things in common&mdash;a shared sense of humor, a love of travel, and a common faith that helps us pray through options and compromise. With this shared base, our differences even work to our advantage. Merryn has helped me learn to relax, while I&rsquo;ve helped her grow in discipline. Working with our differences has made us better people.</p> <p>Paul uses marriage as a metaphor for the church (Ephesians 5:21&ndash;33), and with good reason. Like marriage, church brings very different people together, requiring them to develop humility and patience and to &ldquo;[bear] with one another&nbsp;in love&rdquo; (4:2). And, as in marriage, a shared base of faith and mutual service helps a church become unified and mature (vv. 11&ndash;13).</p> <p>Differences in relationships can cause great frustration&mdash;in the church and in marriage. But managed well, they can work to our advantage, helping us become Christlike.</p>