It Takes Three

In yesterday’s post I described empty shell marriages as relationships that are devoid of life and growth—where couples reside under one roof, yet have separate lives.

According to the English diplomat and writer, Samuel Herbert, “It takes two to make a marriage a success and only one to make it a failure.”

I think it takes three to keep a marriage alive.

In order to explain this I have to switch metaphors—from empty shells to a nice, warm campfire.

Keeping a campfire going requires a lot of work. First of all, you have to get the fire started—which requires a bit of skill. Then you have to chop wood, keep it dry, and attend to the fire to maintain the fire. However, all this effort is meaningless without oxygen. Since oxygen is invisible, we often don’t think about how essential it is to keeping things alive.

God breathes His Spirit into us, giving us life. This Spirit sustains us, revives us, keeps us burning brightly. Without it we are dead inside—although our shells might still look viable. The Spirit is like divine oxygen—invisible, intangible, yet essential to life and growth.

Lord, I pray that you will breathe into our marriages, our families, our lives—blowing your Spirit into us so that our flames continue to burn brightly—sustaining us, keeping us fully alive.