Build On A Solid Foundation

Inevitably, stormlike trials will lash at the foundation of your marriage. This will test the underpinnings of your relationship with your spouse. However, the sturdiest foundation on which to build a happy marriage is loyal commitment based on love. Jesus highlighted the importance of commitment when he said: " No one should separate a couple that God has joined together." (Matthew 19:6 Contemporary English Version) The expression "no one" would include the man and his wife, who have vowed to remain faithful to each other.

Some may view commitment as burdensome, its demands and costs being too great. Today convenience usually wins out over the sacrifice involved in being committed to someone.

What can sustain marital commitment? The apostle Paul wrote: "Husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodies." (Ephesians 5:28, 29) In part, then, being " joined together" means that you feel as concerned about the welfare of your mate as you do about your own. Married people need to shift their thinking from "mine" to "ours," from "me" to "we."

Successfully weathering stormy attacks on your marriage will make you wise. Such acquired wisdom can result in happiness. "Happy is the man that has found wisdom," notes Proverbs 3:13.

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