Our Homes are Never Out of Debt

With the recent addition of Financial Peace University to our offerings of equipping and outreach, getting out of debt has risen as an important goal in the stewardship of our lives. And rightly so. Freedom from debt is freedom indeed.

But there is a debt we can never get out of…and we ought to stop trying. Though our homes are still full of sinners, many of our homes enjoy ongoing fruit of the gospel. It works its way through our own lives, through our marriages and then through our homes. It grows, despite our efforts, and bears fruit.

Jared’s message this week got me thinking along these lines. How, in our homes, are we vulnerable to drift from the gospel? I think it is a common trap for married Christians to allow the gospel to become secondary. When there is conflict, or when there is a difference of opinion, or when lives somehow begin to grow independent of each other, we can rely on a variety of things…in place of the gospel.

We can rely on our communication skills. If we just say something in the right way, or at the right time, things will be okay.

We can rely on our debating skills. Resolution is not the key, it is victory.

We can rely on our selfishness. As long as my way is the winner in the end, the means are justified and don’t much matter.

But most dangerously, we can rely on peace. If we just allow peace to be the governing body in our home, we’re a happy and “godly” family.

What happened to the gospel? And what has happened that has caused us to credit its fruit these lesser gods?

The gospel is the great leveler. It makes all other things, without exception, secondary. The joy we may experience in marriage is not because of our skill or our gifting…it is because of the gospel. The victories we’ve experienced over trials are not because of our fortitude, but because of the gospel.

Charles Spurgeon once said:

If there is anything that is a miniature picture of heaven upon earth, it is a pair of Christians happily united, whose children grow up in the fear of the Lord, and render to them increased comfort and joy every day. Oh, how much some of us owe to the gospel for the happiness of our homes!

And so, today, no practical tips will be given for marriage. They have their place, but not here today. Today, we turn our attention to gratitude. Sincere thanks for the fruit of the gospel in our marriages. For the fact that we have a spouse. For the fact that our spouse would even have us in marriage. And for the fact that a holy God, in an immeasurable act of condescension, would choose to reflect His glory in such a flawed example as our marriage. Truly and only God could do that. How glorious to belong to our spouse…and to our God who gives the unceasing, fruit-bearing gospel.