After The Wedding

After the Wedding

Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Galatians 6:9

TOO MANY COUPLES view the wedding as the finish line of their relationship. They work and work to make it to their wedding day, and then they sit back and wait for “happily ever after” to begin.

That’s not how marriage works. If doing nothing is your strategy for keeping love alive in your relationship, you’re in trouble. It’s similar to the Christian who sees salvation as the final step in the journey. But that’s hardly biblical. In the verse above, the apostle Paul encourages us to persist in service and good deeds. We need to keep working on our relationship with God, and we also need to keep working on our marriage. Remember, the wedding is the first step, not the final one. To make your relationship work over the long haul, you need to invest the same kind of time, energy, and effort after the wedding as you invested when you were dating.

What were some of the things you did when you were dating? Did you give gifts? Did you arrive on time? Did you go to nice restaurants? Did you speak to each other kindly? Did you reach over and touch his neck when you were waiting at a traffic light? Did you open the car door for her? Did you wash her car? Maybe it’s time to ask your spouse, “Of all the things I did when we were dating, which would you most like for me to do now?” Let his or her answer lead you to a growing marriage.

Lord Jesus, I know that I shouldn’t “coast” spiritually. But too often I do that in my marriage relationship. I just get by and expect our love to stay alive. Please help me to treat my spouse the right way and put in the energy my relationship needs to grow.

Effort