Life is a battleground, but marriage is meant to be a playground with only an occasional battle to resolve. Marriage is meant to be a joy, and it is God’s good solution to the one thing He saw in creation that was “not good”—man’s aloneness. This is God’s plan, and you should absolutely expect marriage to be every bit as wonderful as everything else that God has made.
I can almost hear some of you saying, “Pastor, you’re living in a dreamland. You don’t know how tough marriage can be.” I understand where you’re coming from because I’ve been there. I’ve lived in a marriage that I made into hell. I ignored the God-ordained differences between men and women and paid the price for it. I failed to love my wife as Christ loves the church. As a matter of fact, when my wife and I entered marriage, neither of us was walking with the Lord, and we were both ignorant of God’s plan.
But thankfully, there’s another side to my story. I am also one who knows that God’s plan works no matter when you begin to obey it. Anytime a couple starts doing marriage right, God can turn a marriage that is a living hell into a little taste of heaven. That can be your story too, and that’s why I’m writing this book. I want you to learn how to live happily even after—after the memory of the vows fades, the excitement of new love wears off, and normal everyday life takes over.
Let’s go back to the original emphasis of this chapter, marriage as a covenant. Remember, marriage is not a contract, a series of legal obligations that when unmet release the parties from further continuance. No, marriage is a covenant, holy and sacred, instituted by God Himself.
Excerpt from “Happily… Even After” now available on Amazon.
