As Palmer and my second wedding anniversary approaches, friends often ask the question of what I’ve learned in marriage. I’ve written about the power of marriage before. Some of our contemporary society’s most divisive and polarizing debates concern the fundamental nature of what marriage is or what marriage is not. More than half of American marriages end in divorce. There are countless posts out there on the internet written by conservatives, liberals, and everyone in-between about the nature of marriage, the decline of marriage, how that decline increases poverty and chances that children will commit crime and numerous other indicators that should worry us as a society. I’m not writing a post about that today.
As my second anniversary approaches, I look at what Christ says about marriage. I look at what Paul says about marriage. I ponder why Christ’s relationship with the Church is a frequent model for husbands and wives in marriages. There are many theological and political debates to be had here, but that is not my intention. What Paul calls the “profound mystery” holds the key to my reflection on marriage, which reveals within me how self-centered I can truly be. But while Palmer loves me in spite of and sometimes even because of my self-centeredness, I’m humbled and begin to grasp 1% of what Christ’s unconditional and sacrificial love is all about.
