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Devotional Thoughts

 Devotional Thoughts
 The Spiritual Side of Our Website

This part of the site features monthly devotional thoughts by the Association's Chaplain, with the goal of encouraging Signal Corps OCS Graduates to be exceptional in their lives and to live life at a higher level. Our current Chaplain is of the Christian faith, so naturally, his devotionals are fashioned around his Christian beliefs. Your comments and suggestions are welcome and can be offered directly to the Chaplain by eMail at: MaxHolt@ArmySignalOCS.com


by LTC (R) Max Holt, Class 02-67

March 2014

LEARNER'S PERMIT

A piece of paper doesn’t prove that someone is ready for marriage!

LTC (R) Max Holt - TodayLTC (R) Max Holt

Most of you reading this are in your 60’s or older. Most of you have been married…like, forever! So, you may be wondering: Why is Max writing to this audience about marriage? Good question. Most of you who have been married ‘forever’ have an extended family, in which you have considerable influence. Myself, I have 9 brothers and sisters and my wife Sandy has three. Together we have approximately 100 nephews, nieces, great-nephews & nieces, etc. Like us, you have more influence over many young adults that you realize. So…maybe this devotional will arm you with information to encourage young people to do marriage with excellence.            

Having been a Minister to Young Singles I know that about 95% of young singles have as a major goal to be happily married. During those 14 years I saw 352 married out of my group. Regardless of the previous marital status of those getting married I saw an almost universal belief that love will conquer all and that they don’t need to worry about learning to communicate or how to negotiate differences or how to set marital goals. Most believe that marital bliss will just happen!             

Other than an eternal relationship with God, the most critical thing that people do is the thing for which they get the least amount of training and take the least amount of advice. That is, marriage! If you want to be a plumber, an engineer, a surveyor or a doctor you must go through months or years of training, spend lots of money and take difficult tests to get your certification. Even for a driver’s license teenagers have to get a Learner’s Permit and practice for months before they can get a real license. For marriage you just have to spend a few dollars, go through a 15-minute ceremony, say ‘I do’ and you are married! Genesis 2:24 says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” The reason it is so strange is that when this appeared in the Bible, there were no mothers and fathers, only Adam and Eve! God set a high priority on marriage when He pulled it up from history and put it in with the creation process.             

If you have influence with someone who is getting married please encourage them to seek premarital counseling from a Minister or other professional. Encourage them to view their Marriage License as a Learner’s Permit. They need to understand that putting two imperfect people, male and female, together with the goal of being married forever will require a lot of WORK and a lot of learning! An understanding of the true dimension of LOVE is crucial. The Bible says in John 13:34  "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” In Matthew 20:28 it tells what the ACTION of love is, “..just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." So, the first task in a marriage is to SERVE one’s mate; to give your life for them if necessary. That’s a pretty tall order! That level of commitment requires some serious soul-searching before saying ‘I Do.’ To serve someone else we have to overcome the biggest barrier to marital success, our own selfishness so we can communicate on a deep level and build true emotional, mental and physical intimacy in marriage. Intimacy is the thing that glues us together forever. Love is a great foundation but there are times when, humanly speaking, you don’t deserve to be loved. That’s why it is WORK, the work of learning and growing together, that makes marriage last forever. You will do a great service to those you love by helping them get a great start in marriage.  

 Common Sense Application

1.  Since ‘getting married too quickly’ is a big contributor to divorce, encourage couples to take TIME to get to know each other…a year would be great. 

2.  Remind them that a USA Today survey showed that the divorce rate for couples living together before marriage is about 90%.

3.  Encourage them NOT to get married until they go through Christian based Pre-Marriage Counseling. 



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