12-12-12

Today's date is a milestone of sorts. A date in which the month, day, and year align (as in 9-9-09, 10-10-10 and 11-11-11, and of course, today's date of 12-12-12) will not occur again until January 1, 3001 (1-1-1). Because of today's unusual date, many people are undertaking certain special activities. One of the biggest is that of getting married. Las Vegas wedding chapels have been offering special wedding packages for this date at three times the normal rate. And in Los Angeles, the county clerk of courts has expanded hours to accommodate all those applying for marriage licences. Hmm ... as if getting married on a date in which the numbers all agree will help the marriage be an agreeable one to both parties! 

So if the "luck" for a solid marriage is not in the numbers, where does it lay? For starters ... there is nothing "lucky" about a good marriage. It takes a lot of good old fashioned hard work! Husbands must work at cherishing their wives (Ephesians 5:25, 33). Wives need to focus on submitting to* and respecting their husbands (Ephesians 5:23, 33). If you are struggling in your marriage ... I would suggest you start asking yourselves these questions: For husbands - Am I truly cherishing my wife above all else? Does she feel my love and adoration for her? Is my leadership of our home marked by service? For wives - Do I respect my husband? Am I ever guilty of cutting him down either in private or in public? What can he point to that manifests my esteem for him?  If you want some solid instruction and help in doing so, you might want to check out the two books by Tony Evans (For Married Men Only: Three Principles for Loving Your Wife and For Married Women Only: Three Principles for Honoring your Husband). 

These are not easy questions (if we seek to answer them honestly ... which we must if we want to make progress toward a better marriage). But they are questions that we must ask of ourselves on a regular basis. I hope you take some time to do so. Your marriage will be better for it! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj 

* I realize that this word "submit" might be considered "out of date" in today's world. None-the-less it is part of the biblical blueprint for a God-honoring, life-enriching marriage. To submit is simply to acknowledge the leadership role of another ... in the case of a marriage, it is the wife recognizing her husband's God-given role as head of  the home. But men, NOWHERE in Scripture are we commanded to MAKE our wives submit. Our responsibility before God is to LOVE THEM AS CHRIST LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER. My guess ... if more of us loved our wives with that kind of unconditional, sacrificial love, submission would not even be an issue!