I came across a wonderful love story the other day, a poem of sorts. It spoke of a couple, madly in love, facing the challenges that life throws at them. The wife works long hours as a waitress to help pay the bills. The husband has a job, but finds himself out of work at the moment, owing to a labour strike. Feeling the pinch, he has pawned off his guitar, causing him no small amount of grief, as he appears to be an excellent musician. His wife is concerned for him, and resting her head on his chest, begins to weep in the darkness. He tells her not to worry; they have each other, and as long as they stick together, they'll be able to overcome any difficulty that comes their way.
By now you realize it is actually a song, performed by the group Bon Jovi. Hard rockers, true, but they seem to have a grasp of what marriage is, better than a lot of professing Christians. There is even a religious aspect to the song, entitled "Living on a Prayer." Here are the theologians in all their glory:
Some may not like the manner in which the message is delivered, but this positive, affirming declaration of the importance of sticking together in a marriage was the number one song of the 1980's, going triple platinum with 3 million downloads in 2013, 23 years after its initial release, and the video has been seen over 600 million times.
Some may scoff at me for lauding a rocker, because they are all about "sex, drugs and rock-n-roll." You should know, however, that lead singer Jon Bon Jovi has been married only once, eloping with his childhood sweetheart to Las Vegas and getting married before an Elvis impersonator, i.e. all the stereoptypes of a marriage that would normally be over before it began, especially for a road travelling rock star.
However, he remains married to her today, 30 years later.
Consider, by contrast, that my ex-wife and I ~ both lifelong fundamental Baptists who graduated from Baptist Bible colleges ~ lasted only 22 years.
A lot of things could be said, and will be, about what went wrong between us. In fact, this blog is dedicated to helping, in some small way, any others who might find themselves in danger of a similar situation. It is not an insignificant issue. I did survey of over 4,000 people, in which 2,257 described themselves as some sort of evangelical Bible believer. Of those, 279 (12%) were divorced, 136 (6%) were on their second marriage, and 35 (1.5%) had been married 3 or more times. That is, 1 out of 5 evangelical marriages falls apart.
I hope you will join me in a journey of discovery, of what to do, and perhaps more importantly, what NOT to do as you attempt to build your lives together.
Tommy used to work on the docks
Union's been on strike
He's down on his luck
It's tough, so tough
Gina works the diner all day
Working for her man,
She brings home her pay
For love, for love
She says, "We've got to hold on to what we've got
It doesn't matter a difference if we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love, we'll give it a shot."
Tommy's got his six string in hock
Now he's holding in
What he used to make it talk
So tough, it's tough
Gina dreams of running away
When she cries in the night
Tommy whispers
"Baby, it's ok, someday . . . "
"Oh, we're halfway there,
Oh, living on a prayer
Take my hand, and we'll make it I swear
Oh, living on a prayer."
He says, "We've got to hold on to what we've got
It doesn't matter a difference if we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love, we'll give it a shot."
For love, we'll give it a shot."
"Oh, we're halfway there,
Oh, living on a prayer
Take my hand, and we'll make it I swear
Oh, living on a prayer."
By now you realize it is actually a song, performed by the group Bon Jovi. Hard rockers, true, but they seem to have a grasp of what marriage is, better than a lot of professing Christians. There is even a religious aspect to the song, entitled "Living on a Prayer." Here are the theologians in all their glory:
Some may not like the manner in which the message is delivered, but this positive, affirming declaration of the importance of sticking together in a marriage was the number one song of the 1980's, going triple platinum with 3 million downloads in 2013, 23 years after its initial release, and the video has been seen over 600 million times.
Some may scoff at me for lauding a rocker, because they are all about "sex, drugs and rock-n-roll." You should know, however, that lead singer Jon Bon Jovi has been married only once, eloping with his childhood sweetheart to Las Vegas and getting married before an Elvis impersonator, i.e. all the stereoptypes of a marriage that would normally be over before it began, especially for a road travelling rock star.
However, he remains married to her today, 30 years later.
Consider, by contrast, that my ex-wife and I ~ both lifelong fundamental Baptists who graduated from Baptist Bible colleges ~ lasted only 22 years.
A lot of things could be said, and will be, about what went wrong between us. In fact, this blog is dedicated to helping, in some small way, any others who might find themselves in danger of a similar situation. It is not an insignificant issue. I did survey of over 4,000 people, in which 2,257 described themselves as some sort of evangelical Bible believer. Of those, 279 (12%) were divorced, 136 (6%) were on their second marriage, and 35 (1.5%) had been married 3 or more times. That is, 1 out of 5 evangelical marriages falls apart.
I hope you will join me in a journey of discovery, of what to do, and perhaps more importantly, what NOT to do as you attempt to build your lives together.
