I really enjoyed some of Goddard's words about the Law of Consecration in his book, "Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage". It made so much sense to me that a marriage is such a transformative way of showing the Lord that we can consecrate ourselves and really sacrifice for someone else. The following quote really stood out to me and basically sums up what I've learned so far:
"Consecration in marriage is not simply about receiving our entrance card to the Celestial Kingdom. It's also about becoming qualified for the life we will presumably be living there. This requires a transformation of character. In serving and giving to those within our family stewardship as well as demonstrating patience and continually forgiving our spouses for all the ways they might not meet our expectations, we have the opportunity to emulate Christ, thus transforming ourselves"(pg. 105).
Since I have gone to the Temple, I have realized that there is a lot more to "making it" to the Celestial Kingdom than I thought as I was growing up. It's not that we scrape by and somehow end up there one day. As Brad Wilcox put it: "We don't EARN heaven, we LEARN heaven". This is so true! As we go throughout our lives here on the earth, we are learning how to become more like our Heavenly Father step by step and day by day. We don't earn our card into heaven like Goddard states, we learn and grow through experiences and other individuals how to love and become increasingly more humble.
"We are invited to dedicate our lives, our talents, our weekends, and our weaknesses to the sacred enterprise of sanctifying our marriages and ultimately perfecting our souls"(pg. 98).
I know that this life is meant for us to learn how to become something greater…to become like Christ and to serve others, and marriage is such an important way to develop the attributes that will help us to feel comfortable in Heavenly Father's presence one day.
No comments:
Post a Comment