Is Jesus All It Takes?

I have been intrigued by the many bible thumpers (those professing to be more spiritual than everyone else) who often say that ALL relationships will be successful if he and she both ‘have Jesus.’ While I do agree with this perspective in theory, implementing this perspective into practice is a much more arduous task. In a personal relationship with Christ you attain salvation and begin the daily journey of personal life transformation. This individual relationship allows you to go through the ups and down of life inclusive of the lessons God wants YOU to experience. However, it is much deeper when you try to bring two individual followers of Christ together in pursuit of covenant relationship. How simple and awesome would it be to have successful marriages solely created by bringing two believers together? By the 55%+ divorce among evangelical Christians, we see that simply ‘having Jesus’ is not the only necessary element for experiencing successful relationships and marriages.

Please don’t mistake what I’m saying; a relationship with Christ is the most important foundational component of all relationships (Amos 3:3, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15). However, there are character, interpersonal and relational components that also play a part in building successful relationships and marriages involving two mutually exclusive individuals.

Do not be misled into thinking that if you find another believer, then marital bliss is right around the corner. If successfully coming together with a mate in a relationship was easy, then everyone would be doing it. Unfortunately, ‘having Jesus’ is only the beginning to a long journey of ongoing relationship maintenance and development. Following Jesus allows you to navigate through the ups and downs associated with relationship development. Don’t get discouraged…pack your bags and prepare for the journey because it is going to be fun!