Walking in the park sounds nice doesn’t it? You’re strolling hand in hand with your partner. Wandering off in your head about everything going on. You’re thinking about the birds, and the songs they’re singing. You’re thinking about food because you pasted that hot dog station and it smelled oh so good. This is nice. This is easy. This is a “walk in the park”.
This isn’t marriage though. Marriage is hard, it takes a lot of work. Yes, you have to work on things like communication, love languages and fun in your marriage, but I’m not really talking about that.
1 Peter 5: 8 says “Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour”.
Let me tell you something, if there was a lion walking around trying to devour me I would not just be strolling my way through life. But that’s how we do marriage don’t we? What would you do differently in your marriage if you recognized and understood that there was a very real enemy waiting to wreck your marriage.
I have heard marriage described as a garden that you have to nurture and cultivate, and I do think that is a lovely picture of marriage. But I think a better analogy is that marriage is like a kingdom. The king and queen of the kingdom tend to the needs inside the kingdom, if they don’t things fall apart right? A civil war could happen. The king and queen are also always prepared for battle to defend their kingdom. They are actively waiting for an attack. The king and queen also prepare for attacks by building walls and putting together battle plans. They place armed guards around the perimeter as the first line of defense.
This is what marriage should look like. Two people coming together to tend to the needs of one another. Two people submitted in prayer as their first line of defense. Two people with plans in place to protect their marriage at all cost. Great marriages don’t happen by strolling in the park, but with hard and intentional work. Marriage couples should actively pursue their marriage.
Another great analogy is the healthy person. The healthy person watches everything they eat, works out and makes healthy choices. A healthy person who is actively pursuing health has to intentionally get up to work out and intentionally choose healthy foods. Human beings don’t naturally pursue healthy stuff and we don’t get healthy but happenstance.
In order to have a healthy marriage we have to do things intentionally too. Intentionally choose edifying and encouraging words. Intentionally choose to pray. Intentionally choose to satisfy the needs of their spouse. Intentionally choice to read your Bible. Intentionally choose to put your spouse first. Intentionally chose to say sorry and forgive. Intentionally choose to serve and love your spouse. Intentionally choose to set boundaries and keep them. It’s all about being intentional.
My prayer for you reading this today is that you will take up intentionality this year. Be intentional. Love and serve intentionally.
Cass