There is a secret formula to a good marriage. It’s not money, good looks or even a healthy love life. It’s the intimate relationship that exists between Christ and the two people in the relationship.
“It’s the godly person who makes a great spouse,” said Stephen Kendrick. “The Holy Spirit pours out love.”
Kendrick, senior associate pastor at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., and co-author of “The Love Dare,” joined Sherwood pastor Michael Catt and associate pastor Alex Kendrick, co-author of “The Love Dare,” as speakers at Fireproof My Marriage, an event sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources March 26-27. They shared the platform with Charles Lowery, a psychologist and speaker from Pilot Point, Texas. About 500 people attended the event held at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Fla.
He continued, “The fruits of the Spirit [love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23, HCSB)] will demonstrate themselves. The closer you walk with God, the better your marriage will be.”
He cautioned couples to become masters of forgiveness so their hearts would not hold bitterness. “Bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to get sick,” he said. “It does more damage in the life in which it’s stored than the life in which it’s poured. The best marriages aren’t ones where spouses don’t sin against one another, but ones in which both people forgive each other.”
Lowery said treating people well may be the truest form of worship. “We don’t have many records of Jesus going to church,” he said. “We don’t have any records of him singing – what we tend to call worship in our churches. But the Bible is full of accounts of Jesus treating people the way God wanted them to be treated.
“People need love most when they deserve it the least,” he said. “That kind of love is worship. I think Jesus would say that we worship best with our hands outstretched, not raised up.”
Alex Kendrick told the couples that Scripture says where their treasure is, their hearts will also be. He used the acronym M-A-T-E to spell out the things people usually treasure: Money, Affection, Time and Energy. “If those are your treasures, those are the things you need to be pouring into your spouse.”
Catt told the couples that life can wear them down. “We’re all busy, rushing everywhere, stressing out,” he said.
“We think that the only place we can really let down is at home, but that’s not true,” he said. “Don’t let down at home; let down on Jesus. He told us, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and I will give you rest.’?”
He said, “When you fall in love with the Lord, you will fall in love with your spouse.” – LifeWay