My Sabbatical by Jonny Herrera

I am getting married! God has shown me undeserving grace in pairing me with Kimberly West! This is why I am taking a sabbatical from ministry duties at LoveCity Church. So that Kimberly and I are able to build a foundation. I am excited! I am excited because of Ephesians 5:31-33 "'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

Paul gives an awesome illustration to couples about what marriage is suppose to be like: Christ and the Church. But that isn't even his full point about marriage that Paul is trying to make. the point is that the relationship between Christ and the Church is eternal and that marriage is not. Our marriage is suppose to be a reflection and pointing upwards to Christ and his gospel. We are to be a parable of the gospel and with us being a parable we have roles to fulfill.

The role of the wife is to portray the church: a church that loves and serves the world and finds the glory that is in Christ. And the mans role is to portray Christ: the mans is to show Christ to the world, a savior that loves and will sacrifice all that he has for the church (Bart Box). I think John Piper puts it best,  "And therefore the highest meaning and the most ultimate purpose of marriage is to put the covenant relationship of Christ and his church on display. That is why marriage exists. If you are married, that is why you are married."

This is why I am excited to take this sabbatical. Because I don't want to make little of the meaning of my upcoming marriage with Kim. I don't want my worldly emotional or romantic love to be the core of my relationship with Kim. By doing that i am saying that my lustful drive for Kim is greater than my love for God. My marriage will be a reflection of the gospel. A reflection of Gods holiness and grace. This will be the foundation to our marriage: a reflection of the greatest love story of all-time: Jesus.