We are currently celebrating my mum and dad’s Golden Wedding Anniversary.
Their stability, steadfast commitment and growing love for each other has created for us a secure foundation from which we have been able to step out and form our own bonds of life-long love.
So frequently we see the pain and struggle of those for whom that foundation has been lost or never known. We are reminded that the stability and health of our relationships has a much greater impact than simply on the immediate relationship itself.
This quote encapsulates that truth:
The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
How well are you loving your spouse?
As another Valentines Day passes, here are some thoughts to help us all invest in our relationships.
Understanding Marriage
What is marriage and what isn’t it? How does our understanding of God shape the way we understand the way the marriage relationship was designed to work? I explore this here:
Below are a few more messages on the theme of marriage that you may be interested in as you reflect on your own marriage, or on the marriage that you hope for.
Wisdom for Marriage
For wisdom on marriage we need look no further than Song of Songs. It is a brilliant book, right in the middle of the Bible, that celebrates and teaches so much about courtship, marriage and really good sex. For obvious reasons it is the most thumbed part of the Youth Bible!
Whether you are married or single, in a relationship or not, this short book of eight chapters is packed with wisdom.
Here is a message I preached on Song of Songs as part of our series The Story when I tried to explore the main themes of the book. You can listen here (to download it to your PC or mobile device click here):
Here is another similar message that I preached at a wedding where I tried to summarise some of the book’s lessons for those looking to build a marriage that wins. You can listen here (to download it to your PC or mobile device click here):
As a Christian, do I need to marry a Christian?
LEAVING and CLEAVING, (the take-off and landing) is so important for a successful marriage. Cleaving, or uniting, with our new spouse is essential. This is not just physically but emotionally, economically, socially and spiritually. Uniting spiritually is a constant theme of the whole Bible and why the Bible teaches that a committed Christian should only marry someone with that same commitment. I explore this more fully in a message I preached in our Will Revival Come? series from Malachi 2. You can listen to it here:
Simon Harris 