Walking with God. Marriage Bliss, 3


Cords of three strands 

"But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." (1Cor 11:3, NIV2)

In other words, we are one in God, just as God the Father, God the Son and God The Holy Spirit are One.

Many proclaim that this Bible verse gives authority to the husband to rule over his wife, no matter what. This is truly a manipulation of the Scriptures. Instead we are encouraged to be one with God in every aspect of our lives. Would our Father want your spouse to be exploited? No way! Jesus paid the price for his or her freedom as well as your own.

Instead, this text tells us that the husband is supposed to be the spiritual leader, encouraging every family member to experience our Father fully, by word and by action. Unity with our Heavenly Father is the goal: "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Eccl 4:9-12, NIV2)

There are many benefits to becoming husband and wife, especially when our focus is on our Heavenly Father. Together we can do far more than we can accomplish by ourselves. In simpler words, we work together to make the marriage a bliss. We are there for one another, encouraging the one who is down, rejoicing when their endeavors succeed. Loneliness is a thing of the past. We now have someone who longs to be with us. We can face anything, especially if we focus on the "cord of 3 strands!"

"Wait a minute! I thought a marriage was between two people. Why do we now speak of 3 parts to a marriage?"

This is because marriage without having our Heavenly Father in the middle has no anchor. Without God, our marriage is on peril, as we see so vividly all over our society.

When my wife and I celebrated our 25 years of marriage (This year will be 31 years!), one of her colleagues wanted to meet me personally. She wanted to encounter someone who was still in love with his wife after so many years. I had become an icon because marriage nowadays is not "till death do us part," but rather, "until I find someone even more exciting!"

I am sorry for my harsh words, but this is not what marriage was meant to be. Marriage gives us an idea of how much our Father cares for us. If marriage is merely for our own self-interest, I am sorry, but that is not marriage. Instead it is merely a business deal, and a bad one at that. Only when we put our Father in the Heavenly equation will our marriage be solid and fulfilling.

One of the best ways to keep God in the center of our marriages is to pray together. After all, didn't Jesus gave us the following promise: "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matt 18:19-20, NIV2)? Prayer is like the cement between bricks. We become unmovable, solidly bonded with God within our marriages, being One with God, as we are supposed to be.

For years my wife invited me to go for a walk with her in the evenings. I always declined. I had better things to do, and besides, it was always either too hot or too cold. During this time of my life, we started to drift apart, like so many do. I was quite a moron in those days! A complete ignoratus!

Then God showed me how to revive my marriage. I go for a walk with my wife every day now. During these walks, we share everything that has happened in our lives, and by so doing, we grow closer to one another. But more than this, we also make it a habit to pray together during these walks, and in so doing, we are becoming one with God.

It is fascinating to see how many of our shared prayers for others are miraculously answered. Our God is truly a God of miracles. After all we are a three strand chord, unbreakable because our Father is in the center of our lives.

Rob Chaffart

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