‘You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!’ Acts of the Apostles 3:15(NLT)
‘The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.’ 2(NLT)
‘The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the Lord ; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees. I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin. The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence.’ Psalms 18:20-24(NLT)
Whether you’re still dating or have been married for decades, you are in a story.
In particular, you’re in your marriage story.
That may seem like a strange idea. But our lives are, in fact, a “text.” God is referred to as the author of your life.
“and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” (Acts 3:15 ESV)
Paul refers to life as a “letter…written on our hearts.”
“You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3 ESV)
But think for a moment: what kind of written word has real impact? What is it that touches people’s hearts?
When you want to share important moments about yourself with someone else, you probably don’t call it your “life letter.” You call it your “life story.”
So when you see your life as something that God has a hand on — whether it is the “text of your life” or the “book of your heart” — the most vivid way to think about it is as a story.
“GOD made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to GOD ’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. GOD rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.” (Psalm 18:20-24 MSG)
So if your life is part of a story, it means your marriage is also a story.
Many couples focus on their engagement story. After all, isn’t that one of the most common questions asked, “How did you meet? How did he or you propose?”
But if the stories you tell others and each other before you get married are important, shouldn’t the story of your marriage be just as meaningful and rich?
If this is true, then every married couple should invest in knowing the difference between a good story and a bad story.
In the next lesson, we’ll look at that very thing.
Questions:
- How would you describe your current “marriage story” right now?
- If you were to be asked what makes for a “good” marriage story, what do you think the important elements should be?
from Your Marriage Story