Marriage in tough times


"Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without." -- James Dobson

We have been exploring marriage these past few weeks, and it's an important topic in many of our lives. We have these pictures of marriage, and much like the cultural depictions of conversion, they miss the whole story. It's been said that when painting the picture of conversion, we treat it like that moment of putting our faith in Jesus is the third act resolution of the story, when really it's more like the turning point at the end of act one. It leads to a long path, full of ups and downs, that helps us grow.

Marriage is the same. We're conditioned to have the movie end at the moment of "I Do." That's it, cue the happy music and doves. They're married, and nothing but bliss follows. Really, like conversion, that's just the beginning of a longer story, full of ups and downs. It's not the moment of "I Do," but how we fulfill our vows that counts.

The story of David and Bathsheeba is fascinating. It began in a dark, Godless place. It was the result of great sin and sadness. But God didn't leave them, and they didn't leave Him or each other. The end result was Solomon, a wise king who realized his father's dream of building a Temple for the Lord. He also became a part of the earthly lineage of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

It seems like in our culture that there is a tendency to give up when things get rough. When things don't work out as we'd hope, we give up and look for something new. That's even become the case in marriage. When things get hard, we move on. This is even true in Christian circles, where the divorce rate is similar or, sometimes, higher than that of non-Christians.

Much as God doesn't promise life will be easy just because we put our faith in Him, the Bible doesn't promise that marriage will always be easy. In fact, most of our Biblical evidence suggests that marriages will endure some tough times. But in those tough times is a promise, God won't leave us. And if we commit to honoring our vows, to honoring each other, God can work through that relationship.

Most of us don't suffer the same kind of struggles as David and Bathsheeba, but we suffer struggles all the same. But God is there, all we have to do is honor Him, seek Him first, and ask Him to work through those struggles.

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