Marriages that Last

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:31-33 ESV).

It won’t be long until we see the annual spike in cards, flowers, and gifts extolling our undying love for one another. Valentine’s Day does give us a wonderful reason to go beyond the ordinary in expressing our love to one another; however, I wonder how many people this year will be able to do so. Marriage in our culture is more and more becoming disposable. In fact, in our country we are number one in the world for recorded divorce. Many opinions have been proffered in explanation of this tragic statistic. There are countless studies that have pointed to some of these reasons; however, one reason is we make it too easy to walk away and not even try. When Jesus was asked about divorce, He made it clear that it was never what God had in mind. Then, He quickly began to talk about marriage and the commitment that’s involved. Obviously, a marriage that lasts a lifetime is what God desires. So, let me suggest twelve words for those of you who are married that will bring you closer to living a positive, affirmative life with your spouse. These are simple words that help prevent the division that often leads to divorce. They are at the center of these simple phrases: I love you. I admire you. I was wrong. Please forgive me. Expressing love and admiration, admitting when we are wrong and asking forgiveness are some of the main the ingredients for divorce prevention, but the most important one is keeping God in the center of everything we do as a couple and as a family. Just a few weeks ago we celebrated with Gary and Lois Chandler, my daughter-in-law’s parents. They had reached their 50th Wedding Anniversary. As we celebrated with them and some other family and friends, Faith came to me and asked why it was such a big deal? I briefly explained that it is indeed rare to see a couple in today’s culture who had been married so long. She scrunched up her face a bit and simply said, “Well, Grams and Gramps love one another; and so do you and grandma.” She really couldn’t imagine that it could be any other way. Well, we all know how difficult it is to have that kind of love that lasts through the tests of time. Think about those twelve words above; use them often; make your relationship last.