In the big decisions of life using our common sense is very important. For example, the Bible tells us that marriage is the norm. But what the Bible won’t tell you is who you should marry.

I heard of one Cockney from the East End of London, who was not a churchgoer. And he had a real dilemma because he was in love with two very beautiful women. And he couldn’t decide. One was called Sharon, and she was blonde and very beautiful, and the other was called Maria, and she was a brunette and also very beautiful. He wasn’t a churchgoer but not knowing whether it was Sharon or Maria, Sharon or Maria, he thought: `Well, I’ll go into a church and pray.’

So he went into a local Catholic church and he knelt down by the altar and being a Cockney he said to the Lord: ‘Oom shall I ‘ave?’ And he looked up, and as he did so he looked at the stained-glass window and he saw in gold letters: Ave Maria!

That’s not the best way to go about it, obviously! Common sense tells us we should ask these questions: are we personally compatible (are we good friends, do we get on)? Are we physically compatible (are we attracted to each other)? Are we spiritually compatible? Paul warns us of the danger of marrying somebody who’s not a Christian, because inevitably we’re going in different directions spiritually, and that can cause tension. So if we’re a Christian we should look to marry someone whose faith we respect.

Alpha DVD and http://www.merredinunitingchurch.org/2012/05/24/alpha-talk-how-does-god-guide-us/