It Takes Three

I wrote a book once; it was even published. This particular book covered the beginning, middle, and ultimate demise of my relationship and marriage to my ex-wife. The story wasn’t an easy one to tell, but I felt it was necessary so that others could side-step the mistakes I made in that relationship, and—hopefully—avoid an ending to their marriage or relationship like the brutal one I experienced. The book served its purpose, I suppose. Yet, though it contained multiple lessons on what to do or not to do within the workings of dating and a relationship, one chapter has stuck with me as a constant through the relationships I’ve had since that disastrous first one. That particular lesson? It takes three to make a relationship work.

As humans, we were meant to be partnered up. God set up a system of partnerships between men and women so that we could assist each other—one fulfilling the missing pieces of the other and vice versa. It’s our natural disposition (for the most part) to want to share our life with someone. It’s a craving to some, and a need for others. Regardless, when a certain someone catches our eye, it’s that naturalized inclination of love and domestication that makes us pursue them and, ultimately, enter into a relationship with that person—it’s what we do. Yet through our pursuit of the other sex, I believe we sometimes forget that no matter how well we fit together with our partner, the relationship won’t work as well as it could or should unless we also include a third, more important faction—the presence of a holy Father.

It’s possible for a man and woman to make a relationship work without God. It’s not what most Christians want to hear, but the truth remains that marriages have survived without either party being inclined to follow the teachings of Jesus. However, if you’re in a relationship and you’re going to be facing the things a normal relationship faces, why would you choose to do so without a type of safety net to guarantee your success. God can be that safety net if we’ll allow Him. I’m not inferring that Christians never get divorced; I myself am proof of the opposite. But if we’ve chosen to follow our Christian beliefs in every other part of our life, why should we discount and limit His presence within the confines of our relationship? I say we shouldn’t.

The truth is that God is the great Architect of our lives. He’s the great Wizard behind the shiny purple curtain of life. If He’s led us to meet and love another person, we shouldn’t ignore His will from then on. We should include His work and will in every facet of our romantic relationship. He always has our best interest at heart; why would the intricacies of our relationship be any different?

Let us allow God to envelope us so that He isn’t a part of our relationship, but rather, our relationship is a part of Him. Doing so will allow us to truly pursue eternal happiness with our partner and our God. What more could we ask for?

You can follow me on Twitter here. If you’d like to email me, you can do so at Cory@MadtoLove.com. Thank you for reading.