In our family, we celebrate special days over a period of time. So birthdays become birthday weeks and anniversaries become week, even month, long celebrations. This anniversary is no different. My wife and I began to celebrate our special day nearly a week before the actual day, and we continue to celebrate even now.
As we enjoyed our memories and our time together, I began to think about all of the things that helped us get to this point. Lots of advice and lots of mistakes mingled with a load of grace worked to guide us to today.
One of the pieces of counsel that we received, one that made a great impact, was to be sure that we kept our priorities in order. We were told, “remember, God always comes first, then your family and then whatever ministry God calls you to.” We smiled and offered our thanks, but really had no idea how important those words were.
Putting God first truly has made a tremendous difference in our marriage and in our personal lives. Each of us makes time to care for our individual spiritual lives so that we can be in step with God and so that we can have something of value to offer to the other and the marriage. We also seek to make God the head, not only of our lives, but of our life together. God truly is the center of the three-fold cord of our marriage.
One of the greatest challenges to keeping our priorities straight was keeping our relationship and the ministry in their proper order. It is so easy to become caught up with doing the work of God, that you forget that your first calling is not to the ministry, but to your spouse. There is so much important work to do for the kingdom, but if it comes at the sacrifice of the relationships you steward, the point is lost.
Pastor, or not, we are all responsible to be good stewards of all God entrusts to us. God must hold first place, then those we are given to love, and then the work that we are assigned. There is always someone else who can do the work, but there is no one else who can provide the love and care that we give to others.
As you look at your life, maybe even your marriage, can you allow God to direct your priorities? Are you willing to put the most important things first, even if that means sacrifice? If you are, there will be blessing upon blessing in your life. It may not be what you expected, but it will be what God most desires for you.
I am so thankful for all God has given me. I pray I can always care for these blessings in the way God intended. May you also find your joy in following God and sharing life with others, especially those given to share life with you.
