Forever and Ever, Amen

Although I'm sad to say it, our church series "The Vow" came to and end today. I only hope that we can continue different kinds of sermon series throughout the rest of this year. Today's sermon kind of tied together the loose ends left from the other 3 this month.

The first topic we discussed was communication. That immediately caught my attention because in any relationship you keep in your life, there will indefinitely be communication issues. I know I find myself struggling with this problem on a day-to-day basis. My pastor got the whole church laughing with his new slogan-- Communication: Just Do It. But then again, that's the truth. It's something you have to constantly work on to make better and clearer. The reason communication can be so difficult in a marriage, or even some friendships, is that men and women clearly do no think the same. We're "wired" differently. The way to approach this 'issue' is just to see the differences between men and women as God's gift to each person, or God's design for marriages. How boring would a relationship with a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, or even a best friend be if you were exactly the same? The differences between the two people, no matter how small, are exciting little surprises that make life interesting.

The two key words to any relationship should be 1) Work and 2) Focus. Matthew 7:13-14 says:

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

A modern example to explain this verse is Malfunction Junction-where I26 and I20 meet. It is almost impossible to change lanes in this particular stretch of interstate and if you're not careful, you could end up going down the wrong road, just like in life. If you listen to the world's view of love and relationships they'll tell you that if you're not happy, then you must have chosen the wrong person. Or that love is passion, an emotion, or a feeling. My personal favorite is "if it don't come easy, you gotta let it go." I don't know about you, but if I put a lot of effort into a relationship, why would I leave the person at the drop of a dime because times got difficult? These views of relationships are lies, so don't fall into the views of the world, for these are the wide road that can ultimately lead to destruction. Just as in the Malfunction Junction example--the exit off of the interstate is the narrow path, and if prepared for, worked for, and focused on, it is possible to escape traffic, avoid a wreck, and safely get off the exit ramp. It may not come easy, but it can be done, so don't give up.