17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
I Corinthians 6:20 says “you are not your own you have been bought with a price.” What does this verse mean for the believer? The most important step is to have made in our lives is a commitment to Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Both Judi and I gave our hearts to the Lord when we were nine years old. We both attended church. We both continued to grow in our faith and lived in submission to our parents. We both learned work skills and responsibilities. That faithfulness is important preparation for life.
What is God’s will for your life? Important decisions of schooling, occupation, and marriage are made in the first third of your life. We must come to a point when we give God the complete right and freedom to do whatever He wants.
For Judi and I a very important factor in our dating was the truth of the Bible that says "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." (2 Cor 6:14). I have had friends marry non-Christians who told me later how they wished they would have obeyed the Bible. They thought love would conquer all. The most important relationship you will have will be with Jesus, so date Christians.
In addition, let prayer be part of your dating. There are some couples who still have never prayed together as husband and wife. Even before we met, Dale prayed regularly that God would send the right person for him to marry. Judi intended not to marry. God had some convincing to do and frankly we thought God would be clearer than He was.
Can you have doubts? The frustrating part of making the decision to marry for us was the lack of 100% confidence that we should marry each other. We decided to stop seeing or talking with each other for a month and just pray about if we should continue our relationship.
During that time, I just concluded that Judi exhibited the important qualities that would make a good wife and mother (not to mention the fact that she was very good looking!). We talked a lot together and didn’t try to put the best foot forward. We both knew honesty would be essential for any future relationship, even expressing our frustrations and doubts.
An important step for each of us was what it meant to walk more by faith than sight. We trusted God. By keep doing the basics; being what God wanted us to be and trusting. He will lead when that time is right for change, the final decision to marry was made.
I found faith is as much part of the commitment to marriage as giving my heart to Jesus.
Application: Keep praying, reading, working, and doing what God puts before you as a faithful follower and doer of each opportunity He presents. His peace will be present as He opens and closes doors.
Prayer: Lord, I seek a relationship with You first and trust You in my relationship choices and my marriage.
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