"Love never fails. "
1 Corinthians 13:8a
CHOOSING TO LOVE
Read It: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a You've probably noticed by now that I haven't talked about the flowers, candlelight dinners, weekend getaways, and other romantic things people think about when the subject is rekindling a marriage. Hey, don't get me wrong. These things are great. I'm all for them. They'll help to relight the flame, but my main concern is keeping the flame lit once you get back home and Monday morning hits. So I'm trying to deal with the foundational stuff that you build a strong marriage on. So I began on Monday by reminding you that rough spots in marriage are normal. What else would you expect when two sinful people get together? The issue is not that you have trouble, but what you do when trouble comes. That's why I talked about commitment, about deciding to rekindle this thing as an act of commitment.
You decide, "I'm going to win him or her again. I'm going to do it." It starts with a decision of the will, not a feeling ing in the stomach. Love is saying, "I will do what I need to do for the highest good of my spouse, even though right now I -don't feel what I -want to feel." You say, "But how long do I determine to do that?" You'd expect me to say as long as it takes. I know it's tough when only one partner makes the commitment to relight the fire. But if you will make that commitment, that's one more person on board in this thing than you had last month or last year. And when you get on track with the Lord, that frees Him up to deal with your mate. The encouraging thing is, any marriage will work when the people in it say to God, "You tell us what to do, and we'll do it. We are ready to obey You no matter what. We know the Holy Spirit can make a difference in our marriage." What I'm saying is it takes work to rebuild a marriage. The feelings will come back, but feelings can't be the determining factor in your decision. I hope you'll decide with God's help to rekindle the flame, because your marriage is worth it. Think About It A great place to start is to agree that the word divorce will be eliminated from your vocabulary.
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