Welcome to Hank’s Place in 2022 — Marriage Rules — CLASSICS
Dear friend, I want you to understand that Jesus loves us, and wants us to receive His love, which will enable us to keep His commandment – found in Jn 15:15, that we love one another as He has loved us.
Consider this illustration, found in “The Gospel in 20 Questions” by Dr. Paul Ellis. Suppose it’s your wedding day, and right after the ceremony the minister gives you a book “The Marriage Rule Book” and says, “Read this, for inside is the secret to a happy marriage.”
Well, you want a happy marriage. You open the book and inside you discover all sorts of rules for a happy marriage. Be honest. Be kind. Always tell the truth. Keep your promises. Listen well. Be on time. Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’ Freely forgive. Don’t covet your neighbor’s wife. It sounds like GOLD! It’s got all the answers to a happy marriage.
You determine to do them all. But there are more rules. Rules for special days, for church activity, for celebrations, for seasons; what to wear, rules on property rights, on intimacy, on family planning, and hundreds more! “Wow!” you may think, “I had no idea marriage was going to be so hard; I’m not sure I can do all this.”
You skip hundreds more rules and come to the last page of the book. There you find these words, “If you love your spouse, disregard this book: YOU DON’T NEED IT. You will keep all the rules effortlessly.”
But there are so many Christians who will NOT do this. They keep looking to the book ‘just in case.’ They get weary. They get condemned. Their legalism kills their marriage. There is no ‘just in case.’ There is NO situation where rules can replace TRUE LOVE!
So friend, DO NOT treat the Bible like a book of rules for how to be married to Jesus. DO NOT be fooled into thinking you will have a happy marriage to Jesus if you DO everything the Bible says. It is NOT a rule book; NOT an instruction book to obey.
TRUE LOVE does not work that way. If you love Jesus, you do not need a rule book. If you don’t love Jesus, a rule book is not going to help, because love comes from the heart, not out of a book.
L O V E — and you will Come Alive!
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