Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Jesus. Matthew 5:31, 32. Hi, it’s Nathan, and this is Day 22 of 30 Days on the Mount of Blessing. Jesus holds up the divine intent for marriage: covenant faithfulness. Marriage is grounded in the reality of God’s own, faithful love. We all too easily give up on marriage, dumping the one promised to love because it gets tough or inconvenient—or because a shiny new model shows up. Of, course Jesus isn’t talking about sticking out an abusive relationship. Nor is this a scolding for past failures. Now let me tell it straight: the biggest reason marriages fail is because one, or both partners, are more concerned about their own personal well-being than their spouse’s. And I’m not talking about the nasty fights—I’m talking about the self-focused attitude that laid the groundwork for those fights long before the yelling began. If you want your marriage to last, you’re going to have to get over yourself and begin living for something bigger. Your spouse and the well-being of your relationship. The world does not revolve around you. Your spouse is not here to make you happy or meet any or all of your needs. They’re not around to make you look good or feel good. You don’t need to win those arguments. You don’t need to come out looking good—your relationship does, so do what it takes to nurture that relationship. BTW, I’ll put in a plug for a really helpful resource, The Love Dare. A quick web search will turn up plenty of ways to get your hands on a copy. The Love Dare is well worth your time!
