Marriages are nowadays consummated and dissolved as quickly as changing wet diapers. But to fulfil the purpose of God for the institution, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Christ the Cornerstone Parish, Gbagada, Lagos recently launched a seminar for couples, report GBEMISOLA OYEDEPO and LILIAN OKAFOR
“The foundation of marriage is death; anyone who cannot die for his or her spouse is not ready to get married to that spouse. There is nothing like divorce.
Once you are married, you are married forever, because on the last day, we’ll know who is married to whom.”
Those were the words of Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of the Trinity House, Victoria Island, as he kicked off the first edition of “An Evening of Discovery,” organised by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Christ the Cornerstone Parish, Gbagada, Lagos.
The event, held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, on March 23, 2015, attracted a lot of participants. It was sponsored by MTN Nigeria and Greenlife Pharmaceutical.
Apparently, churches are becoming worried by collapsing marriages, broken homes and divorce rate, thus decided to take steps to check the trend.
Charging couples to love their spouses till death, Pastor Ireti Sholola of Christ the Cornerstone instructed participants to kiss their spouses on the forehead.
She said: “The reason for this programme is that marriages and relationships can be strengthened in order to build a solid family. A solid marriage leads to a solid nation.”
According to Sholola, the event was for married couples and those still searching. She said that it was a platform for them to listen, learn and understand on the foundation their marriages and relationships are laid upon.
The cleric explained that the seminar would become an annual event, where different aspects of marriage would be addressed.
She implored the participants to see the event as an avenue outside the church to have fun and discuss burning issues in a relaxed atmosphere.
Insisting that marriage is not a one sided affair, Sholola stressed that each partner has roles to play in order to make it successful.
She said: “When people understand the reason they are married in the first place, it makes it easier for them to tackle any issue that arises. I believe that for everyone who is married, there is need for patience.
They should also under- stand the reason they are married.”
According to Sholola, people from broken and abusive homes often end up being useless to the society.
She said that when there is love and unity in marriages and homes, situations often work out well for the couple and their kids.
“This atmosphere is another occasion to ignite love and romance in marriage. Most couples don’t ever have time to take their wives out.
This is another avenue of taking your spouse out. Couples going out should not be only on anniversaries,” Sholola added.
She said that Christians, under the guise of Christianity or religion, tend to ignore their wives by not taking them out.
“I’ve thought about this. I told ministers, but somehow they were not serious about it, so one day I had an interactive section in the church and people gave their views about it.
Majority of the congregation supported the idea. I went back to Genesis 2:18-25, which says that the man and the woman were both naked and not ashamed,” the cleric added.
She explained that according to Genesis 2:18-25, marriages will become better when couples open up to each other.
According to her, when an embarrassing situation arises, rather than seeing it as an embarrassing situation, they should rather cope with it.
On his part, Ighodalo disclosed that marriage is the best union one can be, adding that a man and woman come together as one, towards having a successful end.
He also said marriage was one of the most difficult and best things that could ever happen to a man or woman.
According to him, the reason marriages have challenges is because people do not reason and seek the face of God before they go into it. Ighodalo highlighted seven ways to make success in relationships and marriages.
Making references to the Bible, Ighodalo said: “Marriage is God’s own idea. Before you begin to consider marriage, you should consider God and be born again.
“A successful marriage outside God is either by mistake or the grace of God found the couple in question. People should not go into marriage by what they see.
Anyone who is not truly born again cannot have a successful marriage.”
But testing participants’ knowledge of the institution, Ighodalo asked: “What is the reason for marriage?” His question elicited myriad of reasons, including that it is for procreation and companionship.
He said: “Marriage is to help husband and wife to fulfil God’s purposes for their lives.
The husband is to help the wife become who she wants to be and vice versa.”
No comments:
Post a Comment