Friends & Lovers - Chapter 1

I am reading this book, and wanted to share with you some of good points.

Friends & Lovers by Sam and Geri Laing
Discipleship Publications International

His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my lover, this my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.

Song of songs 5:16

Best friends. Exciting lovers. Rarely has the heart and soul of marriage been summed up any better. Friendship and romantic love are the two essential ingredients of a great marriage, the qualities that will make it grow ever richer, deeper and more fulfilling. Although thisshould be the norm, few of us grew up seeing such marriages, and perhaps even fewer of us believed that we could experience such a relationship ourselves. Many have seen marriage as a drain rather than a fountainhead, a battleground instead of a refuge, and a pit stop rather than a permanent home.

Put aside your preconceptions, your problems and your past. Above all, get rid of your low expectations. A marriage relationship between two people who are friends and lovers is not just for the gifted, the beautiful or the few. It is intended for everyone, including you. The only thing stopping you is your doubt. It is time to lay faithlessness aside and get on with the business of building your marriage.

Let us begin with the foundation. What role should marriage play in our lives?

• Our Lifetime Companions
  

The Lord God said, "it is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a helper suitable for him"
Genesis 2:18

Our spouses should be our best friends on earth. They should know our minds, hearts, souls and feelings more than anyone else does. They above all others, are the people whom we love to b with, talk to or just sit in silence with, and with whom we share life's day-to-day experiences, heartbreaks and joys.

• The Foundation of Accomplishment

If we are married, the strength of that marriage is the basis of a powerful, effective life. Our ability to accomplish is magnified amazingly when we have our spouses at our sides supporting us and working with us. Happy are those who recognize that marriage is teamwork, that we are better together than we are apart! If you look carefully, you will see that most of us marry someone quite different from us in temperament and personality. This is by God's design and is a part of the genius and mystery of marriage - although we all have weaknesses, our spouses' strengths can often make up for them. Working together as one, we each become the person we never would have become on our own.

• The Fulfillment of Our Sexuality

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
and they will become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24

Sex is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It is inspires, frustrates, satisfies, mystifies and torments us. God created sex and sexuality. He made us male and female, and instructed that we become "one flesh." If you have not yet figured out that those words are talking about sex in marriage please read on! God did not make a mistake when he invented sex - it was a part of the great design - a design to perpetuate the human race, to give himself glory, and to give us joy, happiness and fulfillment.

The marriage of a man and a woman who become lifetime friends and lovers is God's plan for our sexual contentment. It is a great plan, an ingenious plan, a plan that works in real life; and it is high time many of you married couples began to enjoy it!

• A place to Build a Family

God blessed them and said to them,
"Be fruitful and increase in number;
fill the earth..."
Genesis 1:28

Family is to be the fundamental unit of all society.

~ *;* ~

Friends and Lovers! That is God's plan for marriage. We are to be best friends for life. We are to accomplish together what we could never do alone. We are to have an exciting, fulfilling sex life. We are to raise our children to be persons of character and integrity who will be a blessing to us in our old age. What God plans, he enables. What an awesome plan and what a great promise!