As we close out this year our hearts are both heavy with sorrow and filled with joy—sorrow for those who are suffering and joy for the privilege of being alive with the ability to share the love of Jesus Christ with others such as you.

First off, our hearts are heavy with sorrow because of the horrific grief that so many are suffering from as a result of the Tsunami hitting such a large part of our world several days ago. It would be remiss of us not to say something at this time in light of the tens of thousands of precious souls—some of them being subscribers to this ministry, that have been forever affected by this horrible tragedy. Our world will never be the same as a result.

We best never forget that in the blink of an eye any one of us can have our lives turned upside down because of tragedies such as this.

I (Cindy) am sure that not one single person who is affected by this phenomenon had a clue as to what would happen to them beforehand. For this reason we should all pray. We should pray for those who are suffering, grieving, and trying to survive after losing so much —trying to rebuild some type of existence from the ruins they have surrounding them.

We should also pray that God will help us personally to wake up to how precious every blessing is that we have in front of us. We’re not promised an easy life this side of heaven (2 Timothy 3:12; John 16:33) so when we have blessings before us to enjoy we should look at them as gifts to be treasured and shared with others—not entitlements to take for granted and misuse.

I’m sure that there are thousands of victims left behind that wish they could have at least have had the opportunity to say “I love you” and/or “I’m sorry, will you forgive me—I love you” before their loved one was ripped from their lives. I hope you will take the opportunity right now to make that which is wrong, right, if you have anything positive you should say to your spouse at this time.

(In truth, I had to do this myself just last night. I had a wrong attitude because of something Steve said and God convicted my heart by bringing to mind those who don’t have the opportunity to make things right. So I went in and apologized to my dear husband for my wrong attitude.

Upon reading this, I pray you will be inspired to do this also if it’s something you need to do. Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter as much about who is right during a dispute as it is in doing what is right. Think about it—what would Jesus have you do?)

Our hearts are also filled with sorrow because of the many people who write to us every day with tragic love stories gone sour. So many couples go into marriage thinking they will continue to grow in their love for one another and instead find that falling in love comes pretty easy but staying in love, and loving your spouse through your actions when they “appear” to give you little reason to do so—that is the challenge!

That is why Marriage Missions exists. Our mission is to put the heart of Christ back into marriage, so our marriages reflect the love of Christ—God’s original intention for all who marry. God is working through this ministry to help all of us realize the gift of love He freely gives to all that are willing to receive Him.

Marriage is a living picture of Christ’s love for the church so God very much expects us and directs us to love each other to such a degree that it points others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. If for no other reason than this, we should hold onto and work with the gift of preserving this “picture” of loving, because of the privilege God has given us. What a worthy cause and a great gift God is entrusting to those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ.

Something that has inspired us to become involved in the lives of others is written by Henry and Richard Blackaby in The Experience published by Broadman and Holman Publishers. We’d like to pass it on to you-hoping it will inspire you also. (Please note that we’ve adapted it for this message.) They wrote:

We live in a world that teaches us to mind our own business. We try not to get involved in other people’s problems. We tell ourselves it’s not our place. This attitude is completely opposite to what the Bible teaches. As Christians, we’re called to become involved in the lives of others, especially when we see someone headed for trouble.

It’s actually our responsibility, when we see a fellow believer drifting toward sin, to warn that person of the dangers ahead. Sometimes we’re reluctant to say anything to others because we don’t want to offend them. We don’t want to act “holier than thou.” Besides, if we point out the sins of others, they might point back at us and begin naming our sins! So, often we say nothing and think that’s the most Christian thing to do. James argues, however, that when we help someone avoid the danger of sin, we’re saving that person from death!

We need to check to see what’s happening in the lives of people around us. If our friends keep falling into sin and we keep minding our own business, we’ve failed as a Christian friend. Is there someone you need lovingly to warn of the danger ahead? Take courage. Regardless of the response you receive, speak up before it’s too late. Do so out of genuine concern for the well-being of your friend.

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We pray this will inspire you to respectfully reach out to be involved in the lives of others who are headed in a wrong direction in their marriage. We know of someone who said that when she was contemplating divorcing her husband because she “fell out of love with him” no one in the church said a single word to her to dissuade her. If anything they encouraged her. As a result she divorced him. 

She now realizes that those who fall out of love can eventually fall back in love through the direction of the Holy Spirit. She also feels in her heart that if others in the church would have helped her she wouldn’t have made this terrible mistake. She is now a counselor who is dedicating her life to help others to NOT make the same mistakes and misjudgments. Use this as a wake-up call to get involved in the lives of others who need it.

As we close out this year we want to also share with you our joy. God has blessed us with the ability to reach out to people like you. Because of this, we work on our own relationship all the more to keep it healthy so we can reach out to others in truthfulness and in strength. Thank you for inviting us into your lives each week.

So many of you have written us lovely notes of love and inspiration—sharing with us ways in which God has used this ministry to change your lives for the better. Thank you for that. It has infused us with additional energy and inspired us to keep working at encouraging others.

In closing, this is the prayer of our hearts:

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).

May God bless and encourage you to love each other with the love of Christ,

Cindy and Steve Wright