A deeply concerned preacher, before marrying a couple, once said, “I’d rather have a funeral than a wedding, when you bury someone it stays done.”
I read a story about a couple who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were in the seventies. Jerome, the husband, had lost much of his hearing during this time. And yet they were still getting along together and celebrating this great anniversary. Their family came from all over and enjoyed celebrating together through the afternoon.
Finally, toward sundown, all the family went home.
Bessie and Jerome decided to walk out on the front porch and sat down on the swing and watch the sunset. The old gentleman pulled his tie loose and leaned back and didn’t say much.
Bessie looked at him somewhat in wonder and said to him, “You know, Ted, I’m real proud of you.:
The old gentleman turned and looked at her rather quizzically and after a moment said, with a puzzled look on his face, “Well Bessie, I’m real tired of you too!” Though the husband in the story misunderstood what the wife was telling him . . .
Sadly, far too many marriages reach that same place. The husband and the wife just get tired of one another and they go their separate ways. That is not God’s ideal for marriage.
God wants marriages to be strong. He wants them to last long. He wants them to be a reflection of His relationship with His redeemed people.
Some Concepts Of Good Marriage:
1. Follow God’s instructions in the Bible
2. Reaffirm your marriage as a permanent commitment and an unbreakable union
3. Marriage is not a 50/50 proportion
4. Recognize that each has a distinctive personal needs.
5. Make it your life’s goal to meet your partner’s needs
6. Resolve differences in God’s way
7. Trust one another completely
Accepting and consistently applying those seven basic prerequisites will build stable, secure homes. Husbands and wives should study and memorize the foundational concepts for a stable marriage.
Whenever a partner senses that differences are developing at home, prayerfully checking the list will show the cause. By faithfully following this practice, either partner in the marriage can be used by God to build a home which cannot be destroyed.
