Back from Germany.
The weather was awful on Thursday - winds and rain with winds in excess of 140 km/hr - clay tiles blown off of many roofs - marble facing blown off my hotel - national train system shut down due to blown over tress and downed power lines. Fortunately, I was safe and warm in the offices I was visiting.

Today I shared some observations based on my own experiences and reflections on relationships. I am convinced that the reason so many marriages fail and so many relationships are broken is that people have developed a perverted idea that that their joy is controlled by the actions (or lack thereof) of others. If a relationship is Christ-centered; then the joy and fulfillment of that relationship is determined not by what one gets out of it; but what one puts in to it. Jesus never demanded anything from His disciples for His own sake - He only gave to them. We are commanded to "walk in His steps". How can we be doing that if our thoughts are focused on what we need or what we do not want.

This morning, our minister spoke of the things most people in relationships need to be fulfilled - typically a woman needs to feel cherished, and a man needs to feel respected. Guess what? Both of these are encompassed by the word "agape", or divine love. A marriage in which both partners do not give 100% sacrificial divine love regardless of the the response from the partner will never achieve the joy that God intended when He instituted marriage. If both partners in a marriage have at least an intention of pleasing God, then either one can inspire their spouse to become the husband/wife that God intended by being the wife/husband that God intended for themselves. Of course, this presumes that both want to be Godly, and may simple need an example to begin to let the Spirit make them over into the image of Christ.

Thus, ultimately, the secret to a joy-filled relationship is to choose someone who loves God with all of their heart, soul, and mind so they will continually let God re-make them into the person they were intended to be.