Wedding or Marriage?
Lanse Foster

It is not uncommon for a young girl to fall in love with weddings. They appear to be so romantic, glamorous and exciting. And it is nearly all about her!

That’s about all a bride-to-be can think about in the final few months before a wedding. But after the wedding comes a marriage. The average girl hasn’t given much thought to that. That is why the first few months and years of a marriage, when reality sets in, can be rocky indeed. “I didn’t know it was going to be like this,” she might loudly proclaim.

That is not too different from coming to God. The elements of conversion might seem exciting to some. Pray, repent, get baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful gateway into the kingdom of God. But—again—after the wedding comes a marriage. Learning to live together is the difficult part. Self-denial. Humility. The relinquishing of sole authority. The disciplines of lordship. “I didn’t know it was going to be like this,” we have all heard folks say.

A survey was taken among couples who had been married fifty years or more. What was the primary reason they were able to stay together for so long? Invariably, the answer came back: good communication.

Wouldn’t that answer be the same for those who are trying to live successfully for God? Good communication would include prayer, patience, love that transcends circumstances, and thoughtful understanding. That is why pre-marital counseling is so vital.

This article “Wedding or Marriage?” by Lanse Foster was excerpted from: www.familiestoday.com website. January 2009. It may be used for study & research purposes only.

This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”