Marriage

What it means

A man leaves his father and his mother and joins with his wife, and they become one flesh. The verse is the narrator's comment on the first marriage, and Jesus and Paul both quote it as the standing definition.

Why every Christian should know it

It is the passage every other text on marriage builds on. Jesus answers a divorce question by returning here, which tells you where to begin as well.

Cross references

• Matthew 19:4-6
• Ephesians 5:31
• Genesis 1:27

Pray it back

Lord, you made marriage before we spoiled it. Teach me to honour what you joined.

What it means

Husbands are told to love their wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. The standard is not affection but self-giving, and it is measured at the cross.

Why every Christian should know it

It settles what headship means in the New Testament: the husband's pattern is a man laying his life down, not a man being served.

Cross references

• Ephesians 5:22-24
• 1 Peter 3:7
• Colossians 3:19

Pray it back

Lord Jesus, you loved the church and gave yourself for her. Make my love cost me something.

What it means

Love is patient and kind, does not envy or boast, is not proud or self-seeking, is not provoked, keeps no record of wrongs, and bears, believes, hopes and endures all things. Paul wrote it to a quarrelling church, not to a wedding.

Why every Christian should know it

Read in its own setting it stops being sentimental and becomes a description of how to stay in a room with people who annoy you, which is much of what love in a home requires.

Cross references

• 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
• Colossians 3:12-14
• 1 Peter 4:8

Pray it back

Father, make me patient and kind at home, where it is hardest and matters most.