Cruising with Power

My family had an awesome time on our Caribbean cruise last week.  We had focused time together, beautiful weather, awesome sights to see, great food and great entertainment.  I’ll always cherish the memories including snorkeling with Micah in Cozumel, climbing a waterfall with the whole family in Jamaica and taking fourth place in a speed climbing competition on the ship’s rock wall.  All of these wonderful memories were possible because we were cruising on a ship with POWER!  It’s now poignantly clear that this shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Grand Cayman – Carnival Triumph © by roger4336

You’ve probably heard about the Carnival Triumph.  Just as my family was ending our wonderful cruise, the Triumph experienced a fire that left it mostly powerless.  For the next several days as the Triumph was towed to Alabama, the passengers had to endure very poor living conditions, to say the least.  There was discomfort, hunger, sickness, selfishness and anger.

Marriage is much the same.  When a marriage is cruising along under the power that  Jesus gives us, it becomes an awesome, memory-making adventure.  Take away that power from Jesus and things go bad quickly.  The joy, smiles, peace and delight that come from the love of Christ are quickly lost.  They’re replaced by disagreement, anger, hunger for love and sickness of heart, mind and body.

Having Jesus in a marriage doesn’t mean you won’t face difficulties or even great tragedies.  But it will change the way you deal with such things.  Just as many on the Triumph reacted with selfishness and evil when their ship lost power, many people will react the same way in a marriage without Jesus and His power.  But, with the power of Jesus, sinful humans receive and share forgiveness.  They work together to overcome each challenge.  They can enjoy the beauty of life under the power of Christ no matter where they cruise.

Take your lesson from the Triumph.  Never let your marriage (or any relationship) be stricken by the loss of power and the evil things that follow.  Stay connected to Jesus Christ.  His power will NEVER fail.  His love is constant.  His forgiveness is sure.  His blessings are abundant.  ENJOY the cruise of life with Jesus as your POWER!