Two Plus One Equals One

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.
1 Corinthians 7:3

No other institution has been pushed, pulled, probed and prodded over the centuries like the institution of marriage. And yet it has never grown obsolete, because it is not merely a good idea—it is God’s idea.

Martin Luther, a husband and father of six, considered marriage to be a school of character building. Listen as he extols the high calling of holy matrimony:

WALK WITH MARTIN LUTHER
“Married life is no jest or to be taken lightly, but it is an excellent thing and a matter of divine seriousness.

“For it is of the highest importance to God that people be raised who may serve the Lord and promote knowledge of him through godly living and virtue, in order to fight against wickedness and the devil.

“I have always taught that marriage should not be despised, but that it be regarded according to God’s Word, by which it is adorned and sanctified.

“Therefore, it is not a peculiar estate [condition], but the most common and noblest estate, which pervades all Christendom, and even extends through all the world.”

WALK CLOSER TO GOD
For two to become truly one, there must be a third: God—the one who designed marriage in the first place.

And he has authored the most successful marriage manual of all time. That “manual,” of course, is the Bible. But do you know what it says in such important chapters as 1 Corinthians 7, Ephesians 5, and 1 Peter 3? If not, it’s time to find out.

After all, who should know more about helping your marriage to succeed than the one who performed the first wedding—and blessed it with his benediction (see Genesis 1:28)!