You saw a picture of what?!

Revelation 19:7
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;

Revelation 21:2
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9
[ The New Jerusalem ] Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."

Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

You got it.  Long before the beginning of time.  Long before the foundations of this earth were laid.  God created marriage between a man and a woman to be a picture of Christ (the Lamb) and the Church (the bride). 
The definition of picture:  n.  a visual representation of a person.....

Think about that for a minute.

The world is supposed to look at us and see grace, mercy, forgiveness, truth, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Now think about that for a minute. 

Oh how I have wrestled with this subject for a while.  Because in writing this, I am so convicted in many many ways.  I know that I can do all things through Christ.  I, we, CANNOT do this apart from Jesus Christ living in us and the Holy Spirit guiding.  You have to know the mind of Christ.  And you know the mind of Christ by spending time with him.  The same way you know your husband - by spending time with him - is the same way you will know and walk in these fruits.  

Think on this today.  Look in God's Word and see what He has to say about marriage and what it is supposed to look like.  I will do the same and add more to this post then.....

To tie this in to the sports realm, there are MANY young people that will go down this path in just a short couple of years.  I can assure you they are watching.  Coaches are one of the most influential and admired people among teens today.  I can't think of a better way to show them the love of Christ than to love my husband as Christ loves the Church.....