Jonathan and Chelsea got hitched in the sweet little mountains of Asheville this weekend. In the short year and half or so that I’ve been friends with them, they have always been a sweet and steady encouragement of the Gospel and purity of heart. And for that I love them both greatly.
“Manmade systems such as government and religion exert a power over others. These systems will always result in oppression and inequality. True Christian marriage stands in opposition to the systems of this world and calls individuals to a life of service to one another. This “power-under” system, so to speak, was epitomized by the life of Christ as he came under and served humanity. Surely, it is no more evident than on the cross. This idea is echoed in the worlds of Christ’s prayer on the night he was arrested, “Not my will but yours be done.” True unity can only be through the dissolution of the self. When one allows their own to be suspended by another, true intimacy can be obtained. Empty yourself of yourself.”
“We are the setting sun.
Our emptiness contains everything,
The beginning and the end.”
-Jonathan Atkinson
Very good post. I hadn’t contemplated how marraige is in opposition to the world, but this is why so many marraiges fail. Attempting to be married and to live a worldly life of selfishness simply cannot work.
oops, that would be marriage(s) not marraige