In this life, men and women are married to one another. But when we are gathered together in heaven, there will be no marriage (Mark 12:25). Instead, every member of the church will be wed to Christ. Knowing that marriage is a model of the eternal union of the believer and Christ in heaven gives us a very special reason for improving the quality of our marriages. Everyone agrees that a good marriage is more pleasant than an unhappy one. But equally important, because marriage is designed to be a model of the heavenly union between Christ and believers, your marriage may be the tool the Holy Spirit uses to win someone to Christ. Or your marriage may cause another person to turn away from God’s offer of salvation.
That in itself should be reason enough for us to learn to be godly mates and live the abundant life in the context of a growing, Christ-centered marriage. We never know exactly who may be watching our lives. But we know that many unbelievers keep a close eye on Christians, trying to decide whether these followers of Jesus have anything going for themselves that’s worth finding out about. Make your marriage a brightly burning light for Christ, and somebody else will be drawn to the flame.