Faithful Legacy

Before marriage, as a young girl, I often found myself observing the families I visited. I would quietly study the setting and ask myself, “Is this the kind of family I would love to have someday?” By adding and subtracting from what I saw, I began forming a template in my heart of what I desired my future home to look like. I believed that the purpose of marriage was primarily about companionship, love, happiness, and raising godly seeds. While those elements are truly valuable, I have since come to realize that marriage is also one of God’s most powerful tools for spiritual growth, transformation, and Christlikeness.

Marriage has a unique way of uncovering the areas in our hearts that need refining,selfishness, pride, impatience, and more. It calls us to love selflessly, to serve without seeking recognition, and to extend grace and forgiveness even when it feels difficult. As the Word says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend” (Proverbs 27:17, KJV). In this way, marriage becomes a daily classroom where God teaches us humility, patience, and sacrificial love.

Happiness, I’ve learned, is not the ultimate goal of marriage. Rather, it is a beautiful byproduct of two people choosing, day after day, to grow together, to sacrifice for one another, and to love in a way that reflects the heart of God. “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10, KJV).

The challenges we encounter in marriage are not meant to break us, but to shape us,both individually and as together into the likeness of Christ. Husbands are called to love as Christ loved the Church, and wives to walk in reverence and honor, for “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25, KJV). When both partners embrace this truth, the depth and beauty of marriage grow richer, and the union becomes not only enduring but also a living testimony of God’s transforming love.