Imagine the phrase “Crucify Yourself,”
as a Valentine’s Day card.
Find out why that is the Christian message by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).
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Pictures: Josh Collingwood, SnappyGoat
FULL TEXT
My brother-in-law, Larry Renoe, has been a pastor for decades. In his many years of shepherding God’s people, Larry has performed scores of weddings. Of all his marriage homilies I have heard about, none ranks higher in my estimation than this one-of-a-kind tagline: “You know your marriage is working when it feels like a slow way to be crucified.”
Marriage as crucifixion. Wow. Why is that statement so unsettling? During the Roman era, crucifixion was used as a tool of torture and propaganda. A person was hung or nailed to a cross to die an excruciating, long, drawn out death. A victim could live for hours, days, or sometimes, weeks, often dying of dehydration, starvation, or asphyxia. Propaganda enters the crucifixion description because the soldiers would crucify people in public places. 6000 rebels were crucified along the Apian Way, for instance, after the famous Spartacus revolt. “If you don’t obey the Roman empire, this could happen to you!” was the visual reminder of dead and dying, crucified rebels, along one of the most public thoroughfares in the ancient world.
But still, marriage as crucifixion? The biblical record is clear. The Christian response to life should always be one of self-denial, death-to-self, and sacrifice on behalf of others. Jesus said it best, “If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must take up his cross and follow me.” For the Christian, relationships of any kind – marriage included – are a daily dying to self, our testimony to others of Christ’s love. So, on Valentine’s Day, perhaps we should not expect gifts of cards, candy, or flowers. Perhaps, we should remember that love is costly, love is a sacrifice, and love is the crucifixion of oneself.
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.