Weddings are all about love and commitment and the dream of love for a lifetime. The dream of being loved, respected and treasured by the one you love is a common desire that resides deep within every man and woman. Standing at the marriage alter, committing your vows and your lives to one another, sets you on the journey of married life. The daily walking out of your love CAN last through all the ups and downs of life and still grow stronger as time passes.
Some ask if that kind of love is even possible in this day and age. It is. God actually gives us a blueprint in the Bible for that kind of love. A blueprint that, when followed, will build a lasting love. Listen to how God describes love…
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13
It’s a beautiful picture, isn’t it! It’s also a tall order. One doesn’t have to live very long in order to know that the day to day rubbing of shoulders can, at times, wear love a little thin.
But God never gives us His picture of what life can be without also giving us the guidance and the help to carry it out.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Bible, it talks about the emptiness and meaninglessness of life lived without God. It gives us a powerful word picture that helps us understand how this ideal of love and marriage can work on a very practical level.
Listen to these verses from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. Â But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Â Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. Â But how can one keep warm alone? Â Though one may be overpowered two can defend themselves. Â A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
These verses talk about the efficiency of two people working together. Â They talk about encouragement when one falls down as the other helps him up. Â They talk about companionship; and about strength, as one may be overpowered but two can defend themselves.
And then the statement, the word picture that is so powerful:
“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Alone we can all accomplish a fair bit. Teamed up with another human being we can each accomplish more. In the marriage picture, two strands of cord woven together provide some strength and security, but the weave is loose and the two strands cannot be bound securely. We see this reality in our world today as marriages become untied all the time.
But, it says, “a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Â A cord of three, a braid, is much firmer, bound together with a strength that is not easily unraveled.
What is that third cord? We know it is God.  The whole message of the book of Ecclesiastes is the emptiness of life when not centered on God. God is the cord that binds a relationship together. God is the cord, in the braid of marriage, that provides the strength to hold the three cords securely.
If you have already chosen to include God in your relationship then you have already seen the effects of that third cord binding you together. Â As you embark on married life, your own individual relationships with God will impact your relationship together.
It’s like a triangle with God at the top point and the two of you at the other points. The closer you move to God, the closer you move to one another.
In the busyness of life, stop daily to commit your way to God. Ask regularly for His guidance in dealing with all areas of your life. Pray together about your finances, jobs, moves, relationships. Pray together about the “big” challenges of life and pray together about the “little” things of life. Daily, commit all the details of life to God, asking for His strength and wisdom. Pray with each other and pray for each other.
God’s Word tells us that His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. When you see a weak spot in yourself, or in each other, or in your marriage, ask God to pour His strength into that area.  Our weaknesses, and we all have them, can be the very entry point of God’s strength.  And you will see that braid, that cord of three, strengthen your marriage and your home.
You recall those three dimensional pictures you can buy . . . the ones that have another dimension to them when you focus on the inside of the picture? They look very nice as they are, pretty designs and nice colors, but when you focus on that third dimension, a whole new area of the picture emerges and gives it a depth and a beauty that would be otherwise missed. Focusing on God brings that third dimension to a marriage. He is the one who makes that ideal of love possible from the blueprint in 1 Corinthians.
Marriage is God’s idea. It is the most sacred and highest of human relationships. In the scriptures married love is compared to the love that Christ has for His church. It is a self-giving love. It is a love that looks first to the interests of the other . . . it is the kind of love that has those characteristics from I Corinthians 13. It is the kind of love that God will enable you to have throughout the years ahead as you keep Him in the center of that cord of three strands that is not easily broken.
As you trust in Him He will be your faithful God!!
As you prepare to enter this special holy bond that God created for two people to enjoy for the rest of their lives . . . may He bless you as you make Him the center of your home and of your life together.
Want to learn more including God in your life and in your marriage? click
By Gail Rodgers,Used by permission.
Read more from Gail at www.gailrodgers.ca
