We all enter marriage with a dream. When you said "I do" to one another, a brand-new creation of God took place. You might even remember some of the people who toasted the dream at your wedding. Some see the dream as practical: "To the bride: may she share everything with her husband, including the housework!"
Others see the dream as impossible: "Here's to you and here's to me, I hope we never disagree; but if, perchance, we ever do, then here's to me, to heck with you."
While others see the dream as blissful: "May your troubles be less and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door."
Roman 15:6 lays out the highest aspiration of marriage: "So that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." You as a couple have much in common with other couples, but no other husband and wife on earth are exactly like you. The ways you interact with one another, make decisions, plan your lives, communicate your values, and enjoy your time together are unique and ought to be treasured. You are a vital part of God's worldwide, history-wide plan. The dream of your love will bring glory to God because you two, and the love you share, are intricately woven into God's plan of love for the entire planet.
You hold the key to unlocking your dream and every time you enjoy your love, you reveal a little bit more of who God is, because "God is love" (1 John 4:16).
The paradox is that so many couples think they are just ordinary. They act as if God created some husbands and wives just to be filler on earth while he works only with the special people who are visible and prominent. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Our own lives tell the story.
Tom and Barbara Buck appear to be a rather ordinary family. Tom had an ordinary career and they have raised an ordinary family. They have lived in ordinary houses and taken ordinary vacations. To most of the world, they are just another family among the rest. But they are not ordinary to us. When we sat down to write our book, The First Five Years, a book for newlyweds, we reviewed what couple had the most positive impact on us. Tom and Barbara headed the list because we lived with them for one summer before we went to seminary to save money for our grad school. As newlyweds ourselves, we gained an education that was much more vital that summer. Barbara modeled for Bill what a godly wife looked like - see Bill grew up with a mom who was paralyzed by fear and she didn't have a personal walk with God. I learned what a godly husband looked like by watching the kind way Tom served Barbara. I gained hope that it was possible to live in a home of peace in contrast to the raging drinking father I grew up with. In years since, we've seen them model "healthy" for many others too.
You may feel you are an ordinary couple, but you also can have a supernatural influence if you are willing to accept your God-given purpose. Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
We've seen that God works in couples in very specific ways. Some produce generations of pastors. Other couples are highly effective in business from one generation to another. Some couples quietly help others succeed in rather unspectacular ways. There are couples who are inventors, builders, actors, artists, and so on. The fact is that your God-given purpose has been developing for generations and it is now ready to be expressed through your relationship. God has been building this dream for generations and now you, as husband and wife, are intricately woven into His dream for the world!
Take a few moments here to work through the following questions as a starting point for discovering the unique purpose God has for your marriage.
? What do we do well as a couple?
? What does God bless in a special way in our relationship? Why did Jesus bring you two together?
? What does he want to accomplish through your life together?
Create a dream love by living out your higher purpose as a couple. Give away your love and you two will discover your love multiplies toward each other in the process.
Bill and Pam Farrel are best selling authors, relationship specialist who are the authors of First Five Years: Make the Love Investment that Lasts a Lifetime. The Farrels have been married nearly 30 years. Gain more tips on long lasting love at www.farrelcommunications.com <http://www.farrelcommunications.com>
