Last weekend Terrie and I hosted our annual Couple’s Retreat. What a joy it was to meet with several hundred couples from Lancaster Baptist Church at the Ventura Beach Marriott with a common goal, to strengthen our marriage around the Word of God.
Dr. Paul Kingsbury brought several challenging messages. The keynote message dealt with the three kinds of biblical love needed in a marriage. We were challenged to have a God love, a friendship love and a romantic love.
I have a great respect for Christian couples who diligently work to strengthen their homes and commitments to one another. I believe the messages we heard emphasized having God’s love in our marriages. You cannot separate one’s desire to grow as a Christian and his desire to grow God’s love in his marriage.
With all of the hustle and bustle in life, every married couple must never apologize for setting aside time to develop the three kinds of biblical love. Our marriages and our families are our first ministry and they should be the most important ministry in our lives. Stress fractures can occur when we do not take time to cultivate godly love in our marriages. Sometimes these stress fractures lead to complete brokenness. We must never condemn a fallen brother or sister. Neither must we condone a lifestyle that leads to the neglect of the family for the sake of ministry. I thank God for the way He lovingly reminds me to keep my priorities right and to maintain a strong marriage relationship while serving Him.
