Marriage MattersIhe Atụ

 A Chord of Three Strands 

God is a multiplier. He multiplied the fish and the loaves to feed 5000 hungry souls. These two miracles of Jesus, known as the feeding of the multitude, are recorded in the gospels. He can multiply our effectiveness, our love, and our wisdom. But He must be included and invited into the process. Marriages need God to multiply love.

Before I married my husband, we discussed the truth that if we love God FIRST then we could love each other BETTER. We also discussed that without God’s indwelling Spirit, we would be just left to loving one another in our own effort, which could be sadly lacking at many times. Ecclesiastes 4:12 states that “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” I wanted a strong marriage. We needed to be a cord of 3 strands.

The strand passage from Ecclesiastes illustrates that the union of two Christians bound together in Christ is stronger than the individuals themselves. We believe that Christian marriage is about more than the union of one man and one woman. The Bible teaches us that God performs a miracle in our marriage, uniting us together in a covenant relationship with Him as one. The Cord of Three Strands is a symbol of that sacred union created on your wedding day.

So, what is a strand? A strand is a part that combines with other parts to form a whole. In the example of a thread, the strand is made with each individual thread twisted around and entwined with each other. The purpose of “threading” is to provide simultaneous execution of parallel parts. When lives or tasks run in parallel, the process of threading makes a strand that is stronger than each individual part. 

What are the three strands of marriage? A good marriage takes three; you, your soon-to-be spouse, and God. God is love and teaches us to love. By keeping Him at the center of your marriage, woven into and intertwined through every aspect of it, His love will continue to bind you together as one. 

Joshua 24:15 states “… choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Bringing God into your marriage must be a deliberate choice.  In a great marriage, God is intertwined in the relationship as the third and higher authority. He can multiply the results in your marriage as long as you have given the Holy Spirit total permission to live through each of you to love the other. This involves dying to yourself and fighting for the three-corded STRAND of your marriage.

Ponder:

How can you get better at yielding to your 3rd and higher authority? Share ways you could wisely encourage this common yielding in your marriage. 

Prayer:

Oh Lord, Your ways are higher and greater than our ways. Draw us together in a place where Your love is the core of our marriage.