A Christian woman went to see a marriage counselor.
The woman said, “There seems to be friction in our home. I really don’t know what the problem is.”
The counselor replied, “Friction is caused by one of two things.”
He then picked up two blocks of wood from his desk and said, “If one block is standing still and one is moving, there is friction. Or if both blocks are moving but moving in opposite directions there is friction. Now which is it?”
The wife then saw what was causing the problem. She said, “I’ll have to admit that I have been going backward in my Christian life, but Joe has really been growing as a Christian. What I need to do is to get back in fellowship with the Lord so that we can both be going in the same direction.”
“Together” is a magnificent word when people are truly “together,” but it seems to be nothing but a dream or a fog when people are pretending to be together but are not actually together.
Sadly, some Christian homes in my pastorates were actually mission fields. Though both spouses PROFESSED Christ, the home was certainly not REPRESENTING Christ. In some of my marriage counseling I have asked the couple, “What is Jesus’ role in your home?” Far too many times the response has been nothing but an empty expression, even a shocked expression that Christ should be ANY part of the discussion. On the contrary, though, Christ should be the MAJOR part of the discussion.
As this writer has stated before, the first item Ruth Ellen and I did on our honeymoon was kneel by the bed and invite Christ into our marriage. Praise God, He became the rope that knotted us together…that has kept us tied not only to each other but also to Himself. He never comes to visit our home; rather, He continues to live here and sometimes He even gets involved in our loud discussions, too (we don’t have arguments).
The Bible insists that every home should be built on the same foundation with the same contractor going in the same direction!
Here is a simple Marriage Covenant that can improve both your marriage and your joint ministry.
“We will:
1. be in church together when the doors are open;
2. edify (build up, encourage) together everyone that God sends our way;
3. pray together for our pastor and our church;
4. give together in support of the Great Commission;
5. weep together over the souls of lost men and women;
6. serve together wherever there is opportunity to serve;
7. study together the one Book which is a “lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.”
“All of this we will do together, because we want to build our home for the glory of God!”
Tom Swartzwelder was born again at the age of nine in an old-fashioned revival meeting. Tom received his B.A. from Tennessee Temple University and his M. Div from Luther Rice Seminary. He has pastored for nearly forty years in both bi-vocational and full-time roles. He provides practical how-to-do-ministry resources for the disciples of Jesus Christ at http://www.godsgreenhouse.net. Tom’s latest book is “God Speaks–Today!”
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