"Take Us the Little Foxes"

Friday morning my husband and I woke up and began talking about a scripture that I randomly chose to read the night before. That scripture was Matthew 19. Even though I randomly turned to that scripture I do not believe that it was coincidental that this scripture came up. The beginning of this chapter speaks of Jesus' teachings on divorce. My husband and I began to discuss the truth that because the flesh is weak, the world is wicked, and Satan is busy; honor and commitment within marriages is becoming devalued more and more each day. Infidelity, disrespect, and divorce has become a cultural norm. This not only holds true for those who are unbelievers but it also exists among Christian married couples. Marriage is beautiful when two people set out to glorify God in the greatest institution that He has set up since the beginning of creation. Yet, no marriage exists without struggle and each has its issues and obstacles that it must overcome. 

As my husband and I continued our discussion, a seldom read scripture came to mind. A scripture that I had also read to him only the night before. The scripture that came to mind was Song of Solomon 2:15.

"Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: 

for our vines have tender grapes." 

To overcome the many obstacles that become prevalent in a marriage, both partners must be willing to take hold of the little foxes that creep through the walls and begin to eat away at the vine; whose purpose is to bear fruit. Those little foxes can be sinful thoughts, neglect of a spouse, unappreciative attitudes, lies, fleshy indulgences, secret sins or anything that, if left unattended, will destroy the relationship between a believer and their Savior; between a husband and his wife. My knowledge of animal behavior is very limited, but one thing I know is that foxes work like thieves seeking to do their most damage in secret. Once exposed, they usually flee like a true thief. Likewise, the little foxes in our relationships seek to eat away and spoil the vines when the blossoms first appear; at a time when "our vines have tender grapes." They harm the vines causing them to yield less fruit or undesirable fruit. But if these little foxes are uncovered and exposed by the Word of Truth they WILL flee. To me, that means that we have to "speak the truth in love" in our relationships, involve ourselves in daily confessional living, and most of all, allow the Holy Spirit to lead us as we glorify God in our marriages. After all, marriage should be a crystal clear reflection of Christ's relationship with His bride; the Church.

Even though I have abandoned New Year's resolutions years ago, one thing that I will commit to the Lord this year is to take the little foxes that creep into my marriage and expose them for what they truly are; LIES, DECEIT, AND SIN. My desire is that love becomes the driving force of my marriage and that it produces fruit that is desirable. I admit, that in the past I have been guilty of letting the little foxes set up bunks in our marriage and eat away at the vines of our sacred union. There have been a few times that my husband and I have both looked up only to find that portions of our vineyard had become fruitless and lifeless. On several occasions we have found our marriage almost at its breaking point only because we permitted the littles foxes to wreak havoc in our field of love. But through God's AMAZING grace we have repaired those breaches each time and we are still here; still in love. With constant communication with our Heavenly Daddy and guidance from His Holy Spirit, we have set out on a journey to ravish each other with our love, build one another up with pure affection, and to glorify our Savior Jesus Christ.

And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
                                                                                            Matthew 19:4-6