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Often times we go into a marriage full of love, energy and bliss. We see our partners as perfect for our needs!
Whoa!!! Wait a minute. Did I hear that right? Perfect for our needs….???
Years pass and life itself begins to wear on our physical and emotional needs. Our spouses are no longer perfect and tempers rise, patience is tried and we are no longer amused with our marriage. Our needs are no longer being met. We are struggling!
So what happened? If we entered marriage with the expectation that our needs will be met, we will be disappointed.
I want to talk about consecration. What does it mean to consecrate?
The dictionary defines consecrate as dedicated to a sacred purpose.
Individuals may have different definitions for their “sacred purpose.”
What does consecration have to do with marriage? It seems like an obvious question but if it were so simple, why are more of us not doing it?
I will be taking some of my remarks from Goddard, H. Wallace’s book, Drawing Heaven Into Your Marriage.
Think about this statement for a moment: “Consecration brings release from the raucous, overpopulated cell block of selfishness and emancipation from the dark prison of pride.”
What does selfishness and pride have to do with marriage? EVERYTHING!!!
Consecration invites us to put everything we have on the altar—to hold nothing back.
Consecration is a covenant that moves us from asking how we can get our needs met to asking how we can bless and serve.
Have you set aside minor complaints and given your whole heart to your spouse? What can you do to make a more complete offering?
Those who follow God and Christ strive to turn their lives over to God. They know that the more they turn their lives over to God, the better their lives become. The ultimate joy is to surrender completely to God. We turn everything over to Him and life gets inexpressibly good. (I did not say EASY…I said GOOD!)
As the ultimate expression of commitment to God, we are invited to dedicate our lives, our talents, our weekends, and our weaknesses to the sacred enterprise of sanctifying our marriages and ultimately perfecting our souls. In the day-to-day struggles of marriage we may fail to see that this ultimate sacrifice qualifies us for the ultimate reward.
As God would have it, our whole-soul offerings are likely to bless our partners even as they refine us.
At the marriage alter, did you make promises that your attitude would always be redemptive—that no sacrifice would be too great. Did you promise God that you would be His partner in protecting, blessing, comforting, and saving your husband/wifes precious soul. After all, there is nothing in God’s work we will ever do that will be more important than blessing your covenant partner.
In Goddard’s book he quotes: No partner on the face of the earth can meet all our needs. In mortality, we will live with disappointment. We can dwell on our discontent or we can celebrate the points of connection. Brother Kent Brooks of the BYU faculty of Church History and Doctrine observed: “Our capacity to love a spouse deeply and our ability to experience great joy in marriage are commensurate with the degree to which we are willing to suffer and hurt, to labor and toil, and to persevere through moments of unhappiness, stress, disappointment, and tests of our patience and love for our partners.” And here is another irony. Those who will bear whatever is necessary in order to honor their covenants will be made glorious. They will experience eternal joy. They are, after all, those who have honored eternal things above temporal things.
.When we have the mind of Christ, there is no one we cannot fully love nor gladly serve.
Consecration has everything to do with marriage.
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