Our key scripture for this message is found in John 13:34:
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (KJV).
Over half of marriages today fail due to the common mistake that people think “love” is a noun. Jesus commanded us to love one another–love is an action, a demonstration; something we need to display for our spouse, each and every day. Love can manifest itself through the following actions:
Learn Your Spouse
A key to keeping marriages together is to know and understand your spouse (I Peter 3:7). We must learn how our spouses wish to be loved so they can feel loved and appreciated.
Focus on Your Spouse
In the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 24:5), in the first year of marriage, a man would not take upon himself any other obligations, but stayed home to focus on and care for his wife. We sometimes need to stop and take time to focus on our relationship instead of everything going on in our lives.
Love and Respect Your Spouse
Wives are called to respect their spouse (Ephesians 5:33), and husbands are called to love their spouse (Ephesians 5:23). If each spouse commits to doing the same to each other, the focus is not on self. Through meeting our spouse’s need, our needs will be met in return.
Keep Jesus in the Middle of Your Marriage
A marriage will not survive without Jesus in the center of the relationship. We need to love our spouses like we love the Lord. We should take time to reflect on our relationship with Christ to ensure we understand what love is, and how this can be shown to our spouse.
Spouses are the most valuable commodity we have in our lives, and if we cannot value our greatest blessing, God isn’t going to bless us further. Marriage is an important blessing (key); we need to keep it together.
