MARCH 21, 2025 ~ FROM A PASTOR'S HEART

MARCH 21 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING:  MATTHEW 19:4-6

Every once in a while, it is good for we men to go back to THAT day. You know, the day you said "I Do" to the love of your life. I remember that day in that little church in New Mexico some 44 years ago. I was standing up at the front with my friends who were serving as my groomsmen. There were lots of people there from both of our families, several from the University we were both attending, even an Army buddy who had come to the wedding from Colorado. The music started and the ladies who were attending to my bride started coming down the aisle. Then all of a sudden the music changed and there she was...the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Suddenly there was no one else in the room...the only one that mattered to me was my bride, Teresa! That day is burned into my memory. It was such a special day, but even more special are all the days that we have walked together as husband and wife, father and mother, Papa and Nana since that day of "I Do.”

A ceremony does not make a marriage. While it is certainly important and a proper way to start, marriage is much more than the wedding. In Genesis, God said, "A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." When Jesus was asked about marriage in the book of Matthew, He repeated these very words. A good marriage is important to the Lord. He desires for our relationship with our spouse to be a growing, loving, caring one, because it is a testimony of not only our love, but a testimony of our faith. Life is not always easy and two people living under the same roof can be quite an adjustment. In a healthy marriage love grows. You should be nurturing your relationship so that you can honestly say, "I love my spouse more today than I ever have before." I know that not all marriages are that way. If yours is not; you can begin working on it to bring it back. And, if you have gone through a broken marriage, remember God is a God of grace and He is not through working to bring you His happiness and joy.

Please share your thoughts.