HEAVENLY/MARITAL RACE

God created marriage in order to shape couples to become like Christ. Until that is your focus and goal in your marriage, the union is outside God's covering and protection. Heavenly race to eternity is personal but marital race on earth involves two people! Marriage is not the ultimate end of race to heaven but it is a means to it. As a single person you are running one race (heavenly race) but as married person, you are running two races (heavenly & marital). In all these races we need the help of the Holy Spirit to succeed. Why running this marital race many neglect their personal race to eternity which is most vital! Be careful, marriage cannot take you to heaven but your personal commitment and relationship with Christ. That is why marriage is an illustration of Christ and the church. When your relationship with Christ is intimate, it definitely will rob off on your marriage. DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF UR PERSONAL RACE IN YOUR MARITAL RACE!!! Your marital race can only take you to heaven if your personal relationship with Christ is fully reflected in it to the glory of God. His grace is sufficient! This is why You are not in your marriage to cheat your partner because each is in it running also a personal race to eternity. Whatever you do in your marriage you will personally give an account to God on that judgement day! Bear this in mind!

No matter the good sermon you hear and read about how to sustain a healthy relationship/marriage and with your own effort, until each spouse come to terms that he or she is in that relationship/marriage first to please God and second he/she is in a race to eternity and not just for the partner, with time the pressure and challenges that comes with marriage will tear them apart because the foundation is not rooted in Christ and the motive fall short of God's expectation. God and His word is the key of life and light to our path. In marriage you don't do what you do for your spouse, but for God who you will account to at the end of this life. And for you to get to this stage, you must make a conscientious effort to die to yourself daily and be alive to your inner spirit. Couples who are in the marriage for each other alone, get frustrated when their partner fall short of their expectation, which in turn make them to look somewhere else to get satisfaction. Couples in this category see each other as their enemy at a slightest provocation. They hardly study the word and pray together. But couples who are in the marriage with the mindset that they are on a journey, running a race to eternity and have their allegiance first to God, will do everything to live for God and fellowship with Him more closely, which in turn rob off on their marriage. No matter the challenges before them they will continue to look up to God in prayers for a radical transformation and betterment of their union and not engage in any extra curriculum and marital affairs elsewhere. Couples in this category are always conscious of their heavenly race. They see the devil as their common enemy and not each other. When there are issues, they use the word of God as a standard in resolving their differences. They set peace as a goal in their marriage and organize their life around it. At that judgement day, you will not tell God that your partner made you engage in extra-curriculum and marital affairs because of their behaviors and attitude, The Lord will say, "depart from me, you unfaithful servant". REMEMBER YOU ARE IN THAT MARRIAGE FIRST FOR GOD AND TO LIVE FOR HIM AND MAKE HEAVEN AT LAST, NOT FOR YOUR SPOUSE ALONE!