How to Build a Successful Marriage

Treat marriage as sacred

"What God has yoked together, let no man put apart." (Matthew 19:6) The Creator instituted the marriage arrangement when he introduced the first man, Adam to his wive, Eve.  (Genesis 2:21-24) Christ Jesus, who had been  an eyewitness to this event during his prehuman existence, confirmed that Adam and Eve's marital union  was intended to be the start of a lasting relationship. He said:  "Did you not read that he who created them male and female and said, 'For this reason a  man will leave his father and his mother and will stick to his wife and the two will be one flesh? So that they are not longer two, but one flesh.Therefore, what God has yoked together let no man put apart." -Matthew 19:4-6.

In saying "what God has yoked together," Jesus was not suggesting that the marriages  are made in heaven. Rather, he was confirming that the marriage relationship was instituted by God himself and was therefore to be treated as sacred." 

Of course, husbands and wives would not want to be "yoked together" in a cold loveless co-existence. Rather, they want to enjoy a contented marriage in which both can thrive. Thy can be happily  "yoked together" if they apply the Creator's practical advice found in the Bible. 

Because all of us are imperfect, misunderstandings and differences are inevitable. Often, however, a successful marriage depends less on compatibility. Therefore, one of the most essential skills in  marriage is the ability to resolve disagreements in a loving way, for love "binds everything together in perfect harmony." -Colossians 3:14, English Standard Version. 

Next time: How to Build a Successful Marriage - Speak respectfully

From the AWAKE! magazine, 2008