A great wedding doesn't make a great marriage. A great marriage is something that is built over time – patiently and intentionally.
I think there are five things that build a great marriage. Let's look at the first today …
1. Friendship
In Genesis 1, the reason God created Eve was to be a friend or a partner for Adam. He was alone and needing relationship with someone compatible to him. When I first met Nicole, the thing that I first thought was that I could enjoy spending the rest of my life with her (at least my life wouldn’t be boring!). We became friends and have built a marriage around our friendship. We are still best friends and we really enjoy being with each other.
Like any friendship, a marriage friendship takes times and effort. It is essential that you keep growing together. Marriage is not a snapshot (a photo). It’s a moving picture (a movie). If one partner outgrows or grows in a different direction than the other, this will cause problems. Suddenly it can feel like the person that you're married to is not the same person you married.
A marriage left to itself will most likely deteriorate. You need to make huge intentional investments in your relationship on a regular basis. This doesn’t just happen. As in all of life, you usually reap what you sow. Like any good friendship, marriage needs regular large doses of genuine love, acceptance, and special times together. However, these are investments well worth making!
If you're married, how is your friendship going? What could you do to make it better this week?