A lifelong love.
In a world of divorce and dysfunctional marriages, doesn’t that sound wonderful? I deeply desire to have a lifelong love with my husband. But, how do I get there? The answer may surprise you.
It did me.
In his book A Lifelong Love: What If Marriage Is about More Than Just Staying Together?, Gary Thomas provides a road map of how to gain the intimacy with our mate that we so long for.
Today, I will share key points taken from the first of three sections entitled “The Magnificent Obsession” (the Spiritual Dimension of Marriage). I encourage you to choose one of these quotes to prayer over and discuss with your spouse. Also, please share by leaving a comment on the blog of how the quote spoke to you.
We need, I believe, a “magnificent obsession,” an overriding purpose that ties our days together, gives comfort in the valleys, calls us forward in the suffering, highlights our joy in the springtime, and even seasons our ecstasies. That’s what God provides in a marriage based on Him. … The key to a happy marriage that becomes ever happier is a magnificent obsession outside of marriage.
The “secret” to a truly sacred marriage is actually a person, God’s promised Holy Spirit.
If your marriage and family feel like a joke or if they’re bordering on chaos, it’s not anything that God hasn’t seen or isn’t capable of redeeming.
Any spouse who thinks he or she can live one day married as God calls us to be married without God sustaining, empowering, and equipping us is a man or woman who doesn’t understand the high call of marriage.
You’ll have far more success and satisfaction in your marriage if you start asking more of God and less of your spouse.
I believe it will change our marriages and our walks with God if we stop expecting every problem to be fixed and instead expect every difficulty to help us learn Paul’s secret of strength in weakness. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
A sacred marriage calls us to be married for the Lord.
Creating marriage worthy of my calling means creating a marriage where the character of Jesus is displayed for all to see.
Your response to your husband is to be based on Christ and the church (Eph 5:22-33), not your husband’s character.
I am dedicated to the preservation of my marriage’s unity. Not just for my happiness and my children’s security, but because of my calling in Christ. … I want to build a marriage that is “worthy of my calling” (Eph 4:1-3).
Some heavy stuff! But so good. Be sure to share which quote spoke to you and then join us on Friday as I share quotes from the last two sections of the book.
