3 Bible Tips: How to Make Your Marriage Last
God gave us marriage as a blessing, and the Proverbs tell us that "he who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22). How can we keep being a blessing to our mate and have a strong, loving and lasting marriage?
1. Remember that God intends marriage to be a lifelong commitment, and commitments take work.
"So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:6; see verses 3-12 for the context).
2. Follow God's instructions to love and submit.
"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord...
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:22, 25; see verses 21-33 for the context).
3. Always show love as God defines it, not as Hollywood does. And don't forget that all of God's relationship principles apply to our most intimate relationship.
"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
For advice from couples who have been married more than 50 years, see "Secrets of Love." See also "Being a Better Husband" and "Being a Better Wife."