Impending Explosions

The explosion rocked our house. We knew something nearby had just blown up. It turned out to be a house less than half a mile down the road. The fire engines raced to the scene, battling the resulting inferno for nearly 90 minutes but by then it was too little, too late. There was nothing they could do to save the hollow shell that had once been a house.

In another, unrelated story, the argument spilled out of the neighbor's house and exploded out into the street. The Christian couple with five young children was at it again. This time the police came and took the husband away in handcuffs. The marriage counselors raced to the scene, battling the inferno of enflamed hearts for nearly 90 days but by then it was too little, too late. There was nothing they could do to save the hollow shell that had once been a happy home.

Both the home down the road, and the marriage down the street had appeared to be perfect to any casual passerby driving through our neighborhood. But there was something horribly wrong with them both. There was an impending explosion, just waiting to happen and destroy the lives of both families. One of the families will rebuild their house and pick up their life where they left off the day of the explosion.

But the other family will never be the same. Divorced now, the mother works to support the five children. The father and his new girlfriend live not far away and he sends his child support payment in monthly. But for the children, the sirens that sounded that day signaled the end of life as they had known it.

As Chrstians, we always want everything to look nice from the street. In real estate they call it "curb appeal." In church, they call it "the perfect Christian marriage." Both our house, and our marriage needs to look perfect to those who drive by- even when there is an impending explosion.

Jane and I are committed more than ever to bringing help and reality to Christian marriages that look perfect on the outside, but are about to explode on the inside. If there's one place we can't afford to pretend- it's our marriages. We must get real; real with God, real with each other and real with those who can help our marriage before the explosion takes place. At least, that's how Boompa sees it.