Prologue



We resemble our Lord Jesus with wounds for the sake of love.



This book is written for those who want to know more about what defines a marriage, as it is illustrated in the Bible and in ordinary life. It also aims to help those who provide marriage counseling at churches, and particularly for those who have lost hope in their marriage or parental relationships.



I hope this book could restore their confidence in relationships and look forward to helping readers to find their true selves through an insight into the impacts of materialization upon their lives, to reclaim freedom, joy and intimacy in the relationships and live out God’s heart and will for them.



This book begins with a thorough look at the fundamental definition of “marriage,” and ends with key practical exercises. There are already good readings available out here that provide effective communicative skills for members of a family, which I will not be repeating.



I will start by exploring personalized feelings, such as: “Why does he/she not love me anymore?”, “Why does it seem that I cannot love him/her as much as before?” Once we know the answers to these questions, we will find our paths back to our love. This love and passion will not only be as sweet and hopeful as the beginning, moreover, it will add elements of maturity and understanding. We can see our own images and feelings reflected through the beloved ones’ eyes, and refrain from inflicting more pain in our spouse at where it hurts, again. We can understand why we chose them in the first place, and we will thus find ourselves becoming more willing to come to God and live out God’s calling for our family.



Isaac and Rebekah completed the calling of their family despite all the disagreements and family hubbub, from their blood lineage came Israel and the Messiah; prophet Hosea completed the calling of his family by manifesting the intimate relationship between the Lord God and Israel through the testimony of the trials in his marriage; Aquila and Priscilla worked and served in the ministry to complete their calling.



Our Lord God has a unique blueprint and will for each individual family; we need to get to know ourselves, our spouse and family through God’s perspective, instead of harboring unrealistic expectations and the one-size-fits-all criterion unfit for each household. This book aims to help you, the reader, recognize the one-and-only calling for your family!



Table of contents



PART Ⅰ The Lord’s Calling and Molding of Individuals and Families



Unit 1. The Lord’s Original Plan



Ch.1 God’s Molding: To Equip Us to Taking on God’s Calling



Ch.2 The Glory of the “Nail Mark”: Make Us More Like Jesus



Ch.3 “Divine Weakness”: Inspiring Us to Learn from Jesus and Saints



Ch.4 Being Created in “the Image of Son of God”, We Could Live Out Jesus’s Image in Our Way of Life



Ch.5 Live Out “My Archetype-Original Self”: Your Heavenly Calling in Jesus Christ



Ch.6 The Archetype of Spirit, Soul and Body: To Imitate Jesus Becoming Strong in Spirit



Ch.7 Let God be God: Be Hidden with Christ in God



Unit 2. The Blueprint for the Family



Ch.8 Families That the Lord God Paired: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah



Ch.9 The Role of the Family and Its Growth



Ch.10 Crumbling Families: A House Divided Against Itself



Ch.11 The Lord’s Home: The Church



Unit 3. The Blueprint for Marriage



Ch.12 Bible Verses about “Marriage” and “Spouse”



Ch.13 Differences and Similarities between Men and Women



Ch.14 The Meaning of “Being United to”: To “Cling to” and “Impinge”



Ch.15 The Image of Marriage: To Help Each Other to be More Alike Jesus



Ch.16 The Likeness of Marriage: Living in Love, Day-to-Day



Ch.17 Singleness of the Disciples



Unit 4. The Blueprint for Parental Relationship



Ch.18 The Image of Parents: Our Heavenly Father is the