by Brandy Webb

This week my husband had to go on a long business trip. He is currently in Indonesia and about to go to China. It is not a normal thing for him to have to travel so far, but it happens every so often. When he is gone, though, I feel incomplete. My husband balances me. I truly understand the concept that two people become one when married because I feel like half a person when my husband is out of town. Therefore, I really dread these times when we are apart.

Well, this time I realized that this thought can be applied to my Christian walk. This is the type of relationship Christ wants with me. I should be one with Christ. His Spirit should complete me, balancing out the carnal side of myself. Actually, His Spirit should overpower the carnal side to the point that I am made “perfect” through His Spirit. The term perfect I am using is the one that Jesus uses in Matthew 5:48: “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

The term perfect here is from the Greek word teleios (Strong’s #5046), and one of its meanings is “complete in all parts.” Following Christ and following His instructions completes us/perfects us. It is this idea that made me realize that I need to make sure my relationship with Christ is a strong one. Just like I feel unbalanced when my husband is gone, I should feel unbalanced if I am not staying in close contact with Christ. I believe this is why Paul compared a marriage between a husband and wife to how our marriage with Christ should be (Ephesians 5:32). Two separate individuals who become one, complete. We are to be one with Christ.

As much as I love my husband, I should love Christ more. As much as my husband can make me feel complete, Christ can make me feel even more complete, if I let Him. My marriage is minor in comparison to the relationship Christ wants with me, and what He wants with all of you. The best marriage in the world does not compare to the marriage we are to have with our Messiah.

Christ loves us more than we possibly can imagine. He wants us to be with Him in His Kingdom and to share in His glory. Right now, He is willing to give us His Spirit to help us, comfort us, and complete us as we live in this current world. So, even though I miss my husband greatly, I need to strive to make sure that I let Christ balance me because He is eternal, and He is always there.