SUPER BOWL, the MARRIAGE RETREAT and VALENTINES DAY

SUPER BOWL, the MARRIAGE RETREAT and VALENTINES DAY

Another Super Bowl has come and gone, and before long preparation for Super Bowl 2013 will begin.  The athletes will spend countless hours training and preparing for this one day - a year “glory”.  The chosen city of New Orleans will also prepare for this money making day.  Did you know parking for Super Bowl 2012 cost $180.00 to $300.00 for one day!  This did not even include the cost of tickets, hotel and food. 

Records were broken at this year’s Super Bowl.  Here are some of those broken records:

• 111 million American TV viewers.
• Eli Manning completed 9 straight passes to start the game.
• Tom Brady completed 16 straight passes during a stretch of the game.

The claim to fame commercials kept TV viewers glued to their seats in efforts to determine which commercial would prove to be America’s favorite.

Dan was glued to the tube during the Super Bowl with little evidence that he was in the same house as I.  Truth be told; I did not even watch one minute of the Super Bowl.  I opted to watch the movie, “Marriage Retreat” on Netflix.  The couples as well as the counselors in this movie were comical and settle truths were laced throughout this movie, driving home the fact of the sad condition of marriages today. 

What do you suppose would happen to marriages in our country if as much effort was poured into marriage as is poured into the year leading up to Super Bowl.  What if Valentine’s Day was the cultivation of a yearlong pursuit of striving for excellence in marriage and “winning” with our spouse?  I guarantee the divorce rate of 50% would begin to drop. 

What is it about America that we spend so much time on extracurricular entertainment but leave little time for enhancing our marriage?  We even lend ourselves to serving great causes at our church or local mission, but what time have we reserved for serving and loving one another.  I believe all of us are guilty of giving leftovers to our spouse.

Before the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven He prayed for us.  As you reflect on this scripture taken out of John think about what message your marriage is giving to this lost world.  If there is one place where unity should be evident and the light of Jesus shine surely it should be in our marriage. …. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me.

John 17:20-26(NLT)
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 
I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 
Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
“O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 
I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”

A few days ago when I was reading the Bible I ran across a passage in Isaiah that just struck my heart and I began to think; how many of us have done this very thing in our marriage.

Isaiah 30:12-15(NLT)
This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, calamity will come upon you suddenly - like a bulging wall that bursts and falls.  In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down. You will be smashed like a piece of pottery— shattered so completely that there won’t be a piece big enough to carry coals from a fireplace or a little water from the well.”
    This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.

Most break downs in marriage are misunderstandings.  We fail to see the truth in the situation and are deceived, mostly because our own motives are self-centered.  We truly have bought into lies because we have not taken the time to resolve issues in a Godly fashion.

Valentine’s Day 2012 should be celebrated with more fanfare then the Super Bowl with the love of your life.  Choose to rediscover the “magic” of your first love and realize even with that intense magical love it could have never held you through the years had not the steadfast agape love (commitment love) been in place.  What is agape love? Agape love is non-partial in nature; it knows no end, as it exhibits the selfless spiritual character of Christ Jesus. Agape love cannot be destroyed or crushed, it endures forever.

All of us at one time or another need a fresh start, or a new resolution.  What better day then Valentines, as a couple to agree to make this year, a year of marriage intensity of oneness that would draw the world around you to Jesus.