Doug Hinderer has some 🔥truth🔥 for us on marriage. He’s inviting you into the challenge to see marriage completely differently than the world does. Spoiler alert: it’s not about making you happy; it’s about making you holy.
🧐 Why Aren’t There More Married Saints?
Doug’s Friday afternoon rant kicks off with a big question: why aren’t there more married saints? (And nope, the answer isn’t just “marriage is hard.”) He suggests that maybe we’ve got the wrong idea of what marriage is. We tend to think it’s here to make us happy, but God has a much bigger purpose in mind.
📖 Let’s Get Biblical
Doug takes us all the way back to Genesis, where God didn’t say, “Adam looks bored, let’s get him a wife.” Instead, God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone. God created Eve not just to be Adam’s buddy but to be his partner in holiness, reflecting the unity and goodness of God Himself.
💍 God’s Idea, Not Yours
If you think you came up with the idea of getting married, think again. Marriage is God’s idea, and He chose your spouse with eternity in mind. Yep, that’s right: He hand-picked them to be the one to help you grow closer to Him.
🔥 Marriage Isn’t About Happiness; It’s About Holiness
Here’s the gut punch: marriage isn’t about you and your needs. It’s about becoming a saint, working together with your spouse to reach heaven. Happiness is just a bonus that comes from this pursuit of holiness, but if you chase happiness alone, you’ll never truly find it.
🛠️ What This Means Practically
Doug gives some solid advice:
Stop thinking about how your spouse needs to change for you to be happy.
Focus on changing yourself to become holy and to sanctify your marriage.
Pick up your cross daily, following Jesus through the ups and downs of marriage.
Every challenge in marriage is like God’s custom workout plan for you to grow in virtue. So yeah, those little annoyances? That’s God’s plan in action, turning you into a saint.
🚗 Marriage: Your Vehicle to Heaven
Think of marriage as your vehicle to heaven, the rocket ship God designed to get you both there. Your marriage is God’s gift, a pathway specifically tailored for your holiness. And if we saw it this way, Doug says “how many divorces could be avoided?” If we treated marriage as our call to holiness instead of a “happiness ATM,” we’d approach it with a whole new mindset.
🎯 Final Takeaway
Let’s stop seeing marriage as a “feel-good” fairy tale and start seeing it as the wild, beautiful journey to sainthood it’s meant to be. Embrace this path of holiness and watch as the joy and happiness you’ve always wanted follow naturally.
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