Friday, August 15, 2008

the pastor on marriage

Being a pastor, my husband, has the fun privilege of marrying couples. Recently, this was the message he gave at a little wedding. It's worthy to read, print and post on your blog or your mirror as a daily reminder of what makes a good marriage.

"You are like two streams, coming together to make one mighty river. There is a mystery here in marriage. You don't lose your identity; you keep your identity, but you become "one" - there's a new and more glorious identity together than there would be if you were not together.

It's like the color BLUE coming together with the color RED - creating an new and more royal color PURPLE. The BLUE is always the color BLUE and RED is always RED, but, keeping our identity, yet coming together, there is a NEW COLOR THAT'S PRODUCED - a more GLORIOUS color.

Then Michael said:

"Marriage is about...
1) ...TASTES: you get to taste the joys of life together in a more glorious way than if you were single. Sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy, having children together, sharing experiences together, growing old together...not being alone, These tastes are gifts from God that He gives you to enjoy - so, ENJOY THE TASTES OF LIFE TOGETHER.

2) ...TESTING: not like a school test - but marriage has a way of putting our character to the test like no other relationship. Being this close to someone, living with your spouse day after day is a way that God is developing character in us.

We may think we're in a place of maturity, but, what happens in the home is the true test of maturity. The husband may think that he is mature in the area of love, but marriage has a way of showing us just how shallow our love may be and how we continually need to grow out of our own selfishness into being more loving. The wife may think she's very respectful, but when her husband acts foolishly, then she discovers how immature she may be in this area of being respectful.

The test is for EVALUATION and PURIFICATION - so that God's glorious character can be worked in us. Marriage is a wonderful way God uses to purify us and to build character in us. SO, BE FAITHFUL IN THE TESTS OF LIFE.

3) ...TEAM WORK: Approaching life not just as individuals, but as a couple...combining our talents, our personalities together has a way of MULTIPLYING our individual gifts.

Though it seems to be easier for me to do "my own thing" and for my wife to do "her thing," but though it's more difficult to do things together, it's SO WORTH IT. It's an effort that demands finding a way to blend BOTH of our talents and personalities, but the payoff is great.

To put it more concisely: though there are things that we do alone (and we ought to do some things as individuals - that's good and healthy), yet, keep working on finding things to do together - fun things, social things, productive things.

The life you experience together can be TWICE as rich and productive as the life you experience alone. SO, WORK ON DOING THINGS AS A TEAM...THERE'S A GREATER GLORY THERE!"

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5 comments:

Ronel said...

That was a wonderful post and so encouraging for wives and husbands. I would like to repost it for my blog sometime next week with a link to your blog... I hope that is alright.

Thanks for sharing,
Ronel

carrhop said...

The three column lay-out looks great! So glad you were able to find someone to help you put it together!

More great advice!
Blessings!

ShannanB said...

That was beautiful. It really describes marriage, and how it should be, wonderfully.


Shannanb

heather said...

This is a great post and it is inspiring. I love how michael used colors in describing marriage. my husband and I are royal purple.

Lylah Ledner said...

thanks for the comments girls...i am glad i can encourage and inspire...and i'm enjoying the 3 layer look!