The Cross: Dying To Oneself

Marriage is a beautiful event, filled with flowers, cake, and dreamy photos, but behind all that romance hides a reality our flesh doesn't like to hear: a successful marriage requires organizing a daily funeral. Yes, a funeral where what we bury is our own agenda and our selfishness. Gary Thomas reminds us that if we want love to breathe and flourish at home, we first have to be willing to 'die' to ourselves every single day.

We all love the idea of love until love demands that we sacrifice something we consider our right. We think that giving our life for the other is a heroic movie scene where we jump in front of a bullet to save our partner. But the reality is that you will almost never have to take a physical bullet. True martyrdom happens in the invisible details, in the kitchen, in the living room, and in the management of our free time.

Dying to yourself looks like turning off the TV in the middle of your favorite show because your spouse needs to vent after a terrible day. It looks like swallowing the sarcastic response you already had ready on the tip of your tongue during an argument, giving up having the last word and being right. It is giving up your sacred Saturday morning rest time to help clean the house or taking care of the kids so the other can sleep a little more.