The Mission Matters More Than Your Marriage

By Francis Chan and Lisa Chan

Truth be told, Lisa and I have very little in common.

I love sports, she doesn’t. She loves the mall, I hate it with a passion. She likes to sing, and I sound like a cow. I love weird Asian food, she thinks it’s creepy. I love to surf, she won’t go in the ocean. She likes serious conversations, I enjoy sarcasm.

She loves Jesus. I love Jesus. And that’s enough.

It’s our mutual love for Jesus that binds us, and our love for his mission in particular. We both love helping people repent of their sin, turn to Jesus, and be filled with the Spirit. I love watching her share her faith, disciple younger women, care for the poor, and minister to children. This may sound weird, but watching her minister attracts me to her even more. And she loves it when I speak for God fearlessly, even when others hate it. She encourages me to minister and assures me that she will take good care of the kids while I’m out speaking and serving.

We love being on mission together. In fact, it is the times when we neglect the mission and just focus on our own desires that conflict arises. Staying on mission is what draws us closer together.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. (Philippians 1:17)

Paul’s desire for the Philippians is our desire for our marriage. We want to be of “one mind,” to be “striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.” We work as a team and win as a team. Honestly, we don’t spend much of our time on unity. The unity has come as a result of the mission. It has been a byproduct of serving the Lord.

This post is adapted from You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity (Claire Love Publishing, 2014), by Francis Chan and Lisa Chan. The post’s title is the addition of an editor. Learn more about the book.