Experiencing Jesus in Your Marriage

How to Save a Marriage

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. — Romans 12:10

Randy and Victoria got engaged in February 1994. A short time later, Randy’s doctor informed him that the diabetes he had suffered with since age twelve had ruined his kidneys. He would need a transplant to live. Victoria volunteered to be tested, and their immune systems matched perfectly. A month after their marriage, they underwent surgery to share equally Victoria’s two healthy kidneys.

Randy had originally taken Victoria to the doctor’s appointment so she could be sure she wanted to go through with being married to someone who might die. Little did he know that she was not only willing to marry him but to sacrifice part of herself to save his life.

What a powerful example of everything that makes a marriage work: voluntary submission, willing sacrifice, generous sharing, and humble gratitude. While most biblical exhortations regarding love in marriage are given to the husband, love is a mutual responsibility. If your spouse has a need, do what you can to meet it.

Sharing generously is a prescription for marital health.

Proof of possession is realized only in the giving away of possessions to benefit another.

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Change Through Christ

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. — 2 Corinthians 5:17

I believe that for marriage to become the treasure the Bible says it can be, Jesus Christ must be at the center. When Jesus Christ comes into a life, that person gains the basic equipment necessary to become “one” with another person, to be secure in identity, someone who doesn’t have to prove personal worth because he or she recognizes that worth in Jesus Christ. The best thing that can happen to any marriage is for both partners to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and walk with Him by faith.

Would you like to know a priceless secret? Here it is: God is awesome, and He’ll change your life, He’ll change your marriage, He’ll change your family, and He’ll change your future for generations to come. That’s what God, through Christ, will do!

He is waiting for you to give Him an invitation into your life. He does not barge in where He is not wanted. If you will take the initiative today, you can begin right now to live as you were meant to live. When you do, you will start to personally experience the awesomeness of God at work in your marriage and family. And when that happens, anything is possible.

Excerpted with permission from David Jeremiah Morning and Evening Devotions, copyright David Jeremiah.

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Your Turn

Is Jesus at the center of your marriage? Are you loving your spouse the way Jesus loves His Bride? Come share your thoughts with us on our blog. We would love to hear from you about the awesome works of God in your marriage! ~ Devotionals Daily