Luke 14: 28-30(NLT)
28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29 Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. 30 They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’”
Pam had been in a relationship with her boyfriend for over three years. They got married and were divorced within six months. Both had been married before and each of them had a child from their previous relationships. They met on a Christian dating site, and they both said that after their first date, they felt an instant spiritual connection.
I’m sure you’ve heard stories like this. Two people think they have what it takes to make a marriage work, when that just isn’t the case. What begins as a blossoming new beginning between two Christians can end in heartbreak for two individuals who really didn’t know each other at all.
Our relationship with God is the most important of any in our lives. He alone has established marriage. It’s His institution and it is a beautiful one. Through marriage, God teaches us how much He values each of us. We understand this because, for most of us, the significant person in our lives means a great deal. We’ll do just about anything to support their happiness, but in order to do this and support them the way God desires, we must have spiritual strength ourselves.
The Apostle Paul’s prayer for the church in Colossians 1:11-12(NLT) expresses God’s heart for each of us. It says, “11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.” God demonstrates that all our abilities and accomplishments are birthed from His power and love, and His power and love should be anchored in our inner being. If we lose sight of this, we will not continually seek Him, but think that we can handle things on our own.
This is the mistake many believers make when they marry. They underestimate the amount of prayer, patience, endurance, and faith that marriage requires. In Luke 14:28-30, Jesus Christ gives us the way to use an accurate measuring stick. He commands us to count the cost before we undertake the task of building on his foundation. In Luke 14:29, he informs us that if we haven’t sufficiently put on the Word of God in our hearts and minds, it’s very possible to run out of strength and resources before the structure is complete.
No one is perfect. We have many flaws; some we haven’t yet discovered ourselves. There’s no such thing as a perfect match, but there is a person that God has ordained to walk with us through life. He expects to see that we’ve demonstrated an allegiance to prayer, patience, and endurance, and faith in our relationship with Him through Christ before, and not after, the person is introduced into our lives. Life is no playground. It can spring situations and circumstances on us that we never imagined. We must have the spiritual strength to remain committed to our spouses, and the best measure of this is our commitment to God. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Life Is No Playground”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.