“Marriage is important, but it’s not the most important thing.”
That comment may seem a bit off-the-wall coming from a guest on the Focus on the Family broadcast. But then, Francis Chan often has a unique way of looking at God and His people.
Francis and his wife, Lisa, join us for today and tomorrow’s program, “Living Your Marriage in View of Eternity.” They’ll offer some challenging insights about living the Christian life, about consistency in our faith, and about being adventurous, not just in our walk with God, but in our walk with our mate, as well.
Recognizing that you can focus too much on your marriage and family is an example of Francis and Lisa’s typical, out-of-the-box thinking.
They say Scripture tells us to center our attention on God, our relationship with Him, and the mission He has for us in this world. If we’ll make that our daily objective, everything else in our lives will more naturally find their rightful place, including our marriages.
In practical terms, that means when something is amiss in our relationship, we should go first to the Lord and seek strength, healing, and forgiveness for ourselves. Then we’ll have a reasonable, right, and prayerful expectation of our spouse.
Of course, as we all know, our faith doesn’t protect our marriage from every problem. Life’s storms will come. Francis and Lisa say, in those times, all we can do is stay close to Christ and press in, knowing we’re in a hard season.
We have to keep being faithful, not because it’s easy, but because we know God is true. We also have to speak God’s truth to ourselves constantly. We live in a world of lies, and God’s Word is the breath of life to us.
The fact is there are seasons when marriage is about struggling to hold on, fighting the good fight, and running the race. And when you don’t feel you can run, you rely on God’s grace to take one step. Then another. And another.
But God’s desire isn’t to leave us wandering endlessly in a valley of darkness. He wants to walk with us and to lead our marriages out of that dark valley by turning to Him again and again, so that our joy in Him is overflowing.
I hope you’ll take a moment to join us for our conversation with Francis and Lisa. You can hear it on your local radio station, online, or via our free, downloadable mobile phone app. I think you’ll be inspired and even in awe over the intimate role our Lord wants to play in bringing your marriage alive.
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