More than love

A few weeks ago during our Sunday morning ABF (Adult Bible Fellowship) I began a five week series on marriage. Since our class is made up of couples who for the most part have been married less than five years, I thought it might be a good idea to cover some basic marital concerns that we all face. Statistics tell us that every year somewhere between 43 and 52% of all marriages end in divorce. For those of us who regard marriage as sacred that number is both sicking and frightening. I think that one thing the church needs to do is remind people that marriage is not something man created, it is not something man designed, it is not something that culture dictates: marriage was created by and belongs to God. He invented it, He put it in motion and it is He who gets to set the guidelines for it. According to Genesis 2:24 God gave Adam his bride Eve, there by showing us the parameters of marriage (1 man and 1 woman). In that same verse he also shows us the importance of marriage. When a man and woman get married they will make all other earthly relationships secondary to their marriage. In this verse (24) he also shows the duration of marriage, it is to be permanent. When the bible says that they will "become one flesh" it means just that. They are no longer two separate entities revolving around each other, they are one. The only way to truly become "one" is to understand what you are getting into. Love is great, but love tends to fluctuate. Some days you really feel it, and other days, well not so much. What marriage was created to be is a covenant. A covenant between two people, who by the way, should be equally yoked together. Many people think a covenant is a contract, but that's really not true. The bible speaks of covenants in many places, but one of the best definitions of a covenant I could find actually comes from the marriage manuel at our church. I thought I would share with you a few things it says about covenant's.

• A covenant is based on trust between parties; a contract is based on distrust.
• A covenant is based on unlimited responsibility; a contract is based on limited responsibility.
• A covenant cannot be broken if new circumstances occur; a contract can be broken by mutual consent.

Love is great, it is something that God wants us all to experience. The reality is however, that love alone won't keep us together. We need to know that when we say I do before God and men, we have entered into a sacred trust. It is something not to be entered into lightly, because one flesh can never really heal once it is torn apart.

Ed