Marriage...

One of the greatest gifts that God has given to me aside from salvation has to be my spouse. I am so blessed to be married to the woman if my prayers, hopes and dreams. My wife, Pam, is an absolute joy. This morning I read an article entitled "What Makes A Happy Marriage?". The article was actually pretty good. It listed several components that contribute to a happy and healthy marriage. Obviously above everything else a blessed marriage is one that is centered and grounded in Christ. That should go without saying, but there were some other qualities that you can say flow out of that commitment that I think are important as well and that were identified in the article also:

Prayer...Prayer is one way to show our dependence upon God. God's wisdom, guidance and protection is so needed if our marriages are going to flourish as God desires. Praying for your spouse, praying for your marriage and of course praying with your spouse are all extremely beneficial practices that we need to be committed to.

Commitment...In this day and age where divorce has become the norm instead of the rarity we must fully understand that the vows that we made to our spouses we also made to God. We must recognize that we made a vow before God, and we must believe that God's plan is for us to remain together forever.

Laughter...The ability to laugh at ourselves or our situation allows us to keep things in perspective over the years. Sure we argue from time to time, but the overall theme of our marriages should be joy and laughter.

Talking...No doubt this may sound cliché, but the secret really is communication. Lack of communication at best says, We don't need to talk, we already know everything about each other. How arrogant! A lifetime isn't enough to fully understand each other. At worst it says, I don't think my spouse is worth the effort of trying to understand; I've given up. It's only a short step from there to, We have nothing in common; we might as well end it. So we must really make a point of keeping up the talking!

Forgiveness...The bible states that "love keeps no records of wrong". The unwillingness to forgive can become a huge deterrent to a healthy and happy marriage. Being willing to extend grace to your spouse can be one of the godliest things we can do in the context of our marriage.

Serve, Serve, Serve...Seeking to serve your spouse and meeting their needs before your own can bring a beautiful culture and climate into your relationship. If Jesus the Son of God served others, than how could we not be willing to serve the gift that God has brought into our lives, our spouse.

This is not an exhaustive list. I am sure there are a ton of things we could add, but it did get my mind thinking about my marriage this morning and about the areas I need to sure up with God's help. Our marriages have great purpose and weight to the Kingdom of God. Our marriages should be a declaration to the world about the power of the Gospel and the glory of God. This morning I could not help but to thank God for my marriage and to ask for His power and wisdom to strive to be the husband He has called me to be.