You And Me Forever: Marriage In Light Of EternityMuestra

"Run"

If all you do is gain a better understanding of marriage or develop a longer wish list of what you’d like your marriage to look like, then you’ve missed the point. 

If you’re not changing, you’ve wasted your time. 

Actually, if you are not changing in response to what you’ve learned, then this study has been harmful to your soul. Accumulating knowledge without putting it into practice is a form of pride, and it can devour you. The test for whether this study has had a positive or harmful effect on you is where you go from here. If you grow in humility, service, love for God and His mission, etc., then this has been a good study. If you grow more intelligent and your life and marriage remain the same, this has been a step backward in your Christian life.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul compares the Christian life to a race and his pursuit of Christ to training. Knowing the rules of the race is different than actually running it. Running the race requires training, discipline, and perseverance. I see too many Christians wasting their lives on everything but the mission that God gave them. We need to see this life as a race, and devote our energy toward that end. 

It doesn’t matter how well you started the race; it matters how you finish. There is real work to be done, a real prize to be obtained. Being married means that you’re running side by side. Are you ready to run together?

Discuss with your spouse: Are you actually putting into practice anything that you’ve been learning? How can you continue to discipline yourselves in this regard?