Commitment in marriage - My 32nd wedding anniversary

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 (NLT)
10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.

The apostle gives a statement he said he obtained directly from Christ, “A wife must not leave her husband and a husband must not leave his wife. But we see there is also a condition that says if someone does leave they should remain single or be reconciled to the person they left. These words affirm marriage is a commitment where each party must be responsible for their actions.

Today marks the 32nd anniversary of marriage for my wife and me. She was 15 and I was 17 when we met so marriage was a little ways off. When I figure the percentage of years I have known my wife Robin it is 67% of my life. While that seems like a long time I remember our wedding day as clear as yesterday. Some might ask has marriage been easy. The answer I would give is marriage has been a full and real commitment to each other. It is not always easy, but no relationship is. It takes work and a willingness to love the other person for who they are just as God loves us for who we are. We joined in marriage with all our faults, dysfunctions and problems and yet we have worked through many of the issues we have faced in life. I am thankful Christ has been a part of marriage for He has carried the burdens of life when we could not. We have had some serious trials and temptations in our life that could have ended a marriage, but God’s grace and mercy was upon us and lead us through those difficult times. I am in no way perfect; only Christ was perfect. I know my wife would love hearing me admit this right now, but it is the truth. I have my problems and still do. My life was filled with dysfunction and it still bites me in the rear at times. There have been times I have messed up royally. I am just thankful God’s grace is sufficient to help me deal with my problems. I am thankful Christ releases me from my sin so shame does not hinder our marriage. For those entering marriage understand the baggage you carry with you has to be dealt with if you are committed to making your marriage work. If you have not dealt with the baggage and jump from one marriage to the next, guess what? You carry the same baggage again and again to the next marriage until that baggage has been dealt with. So today I honor my wife as I quote from Proverbs 31, “Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” I thank God for my wife Robin who I love and who has complimented my life where I am lacking and enriched it greatly.