How to Strengthen Your Marriage

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Friday, December 05, 2008

" 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' . . . So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." — Matthew 19:5–6

Sometimes we hear the comment, "They have a marriage made in heaven." The implication of a statement like that is that some marriages just work and others don't.

Listen. Good marriages thrive because of the effort on behalf of both partners. Bad marriages exist because of the neglect of both partners.

You want a good marriage? Make it. You want a bad marriage? Neglect it.

There are two things we can work at to strengthen our marriages. First, we will have to obey the Word of God. God's Word must be the standard for our marriages. If that is the case, then we are on the right track. If that is not the case, then we will face troubles ahead.

Second, we need to lay aside this world's distorted and perverse concept of marriage. We need to get this kind of thinking out of our minds. We need to take that word divorce and excise it from our vocabulary. Divorce can't be some trap door that is always nearby.

We need to resolve to make it through thick and thin, no matter what. We have made a commitment. We are going to stand by our marriages. That's the kind of determination we need.

As Winston Churchill said during World War II, "Victory is not won through evacuation." The same is true of marriage. It is a commitment until death do us part.

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