August 2008 - the Parklander

RELIGION AND HUMANITIES
Marriage: Fighting the Good Fight with Faith
By Rev. George Faragi
I was sitting in my office the other day thinking how this time of the
year revolves around family. Why we have new marriages, new babies,
within marriage.The first half of [Ephesians 6] teaches children to obey,
and then discusses the responsibilities of the father. Then [V10] says,
family reunions and the like that seem to always come at this time of “Finally, be strong in the Lord…” All of these instructions clearly show
the year.
that there is a way to keep marriages and families strong.
I thought how busy my own schedule is going to be this year. I will be In my Pre-Marital counseling with young people, often queries come up
marrying my own son at the end of July, marrying my cousin in concerning why they should marry when there are so many getting
September. I will be attending two of my cousin’s weddings, one in divorced, and why would they want children, only to struggle to raise
October and the other in November.
them in this evil world? I try to assure them that the promises found in
I remember some weeks ago the results of a poll taken on the divorce Ephesians are actually encouraging to them.
rates in this country. It stated that the divorce rate was down for the first [Ephesians 6:11,13] encourage us to know that we can stand against the
time in many years. I actually laughed at that because I realize that many schemes of the devil and we can withstand on the day of evil by
people refuse to marry today and would rather live together instead. taking the whole armor of God as our defense, the armor made up of
That’s why divorce rates are down. (Smile)
truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the sword
Personally, I believe marriages can be strong and, even though family life of the Spirit.
is deteriorating, families can also be strong. My conviction is such that I tell young people all the time that a lasting marriage is of great value
there is no doubt in my mind that marriage and the family is “Worth and they have to be very prepared for warfare in order to preserve it. The
Defending In Battle!”
same is true with the family. It is necessary to stand against the schemes
All one has to do to be encouraged as I am, is read God’s Word and of the devil to keep a family strong at all times.
apply it by faith to every situation in life. When reading [Ephesians In the past three decades I have seen first hand almost every conceivable
6:10-18] you understand these verses prepare the reader for warfare. problem in marriages and family relationships, but I still have faith that
One of the major battles of life is to fight against things that keep us it is possible to have a strong family life and marriage relationship
from having strong marriages and families.
providing the Word of God is used as the armor to withstand every trial.
The last half of [Ephesians 5] speaks about husband-wife relationships It is imperative that we use the Word of God as our basis for sorting out
what is right and what is wrong as well
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as the basis for making decisions and or
resolving conflicts.
Marriage and the family are
institutions founded by God. They are
considered His highest priority for
individuals next to personal salvation.
They are absolutely “Worth Defending
In Battle!”
My prayer is God preserve your
marriages and your families as you
“fight the good fight of faith” by
applying His Word as armor to
withstand all the trials of this life.
130 AUGUST 2008
George Faragi is Senior Pastor of
Cornerstone Christian Center
in Boca Raton.