relationship
the way in which people regard and behave toward each other
responsibility
a moral obligation to behave correctly toward or in respect of
Every healthy relationship has a foundation of responsibility.
The secret to a long relationship? One focus, vision, purpose.
God is the strongest bond for marriage because He created marriage.
He defined the relationship!
Have you ever heard, “Forsake all others and keep myself only unto you”?
That’s adapted from Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:4-6
Ephesians 5:21-25
We have different needs. A man’s #1 need is honor or respect. And a woman’s #1 need is security, as in peace of mind. These are our two main needs, but other needs are different for every person. This is simply where we begin.
God did not create woman and then say she needed a man.
God created man and then said he needed a woman!
Genesis 2:18
Help your spouse grow, flourish, become – the Hebrew is ezer
Meet, that YOU fit THEM – the Hebrew is kenegdo
Ephesians 5:25-28
The new testament teachings – and even the old testament with its laws on sexual relations, premarital sex, rape, etc, that we have trouble understanding – all focus on purity in sexual matters. (see Deuteronomy 22:13-30 for just one example, specifically note verses 28 and 29)
If you follow cultural norms of dating you should expect to end up in the cultural norm of divorce.
Jesus defined relationships by His words and His actions. It’s about loving others as yourself, sacrificially; not what you get out but what you put into a relationship.
Church 29:11 