When God created the institution of marriage. He had a great purpose in mind. Marriage is a gift from God to mankind. It not only serves the purpose of procreation but even more than that, it provides love, companionship and protection for a man and a woman within its sacred shelter. According to God’s original design, a husband and a wife are to be joined together as one flesh (Genesis 2:21-24).
In God’s eyes, marriage is sacred and honorable according to Hebrews 13:4 “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” God expects fidelity and faithfulness within marriage. Marriage also represents a great picture of Christ’s relationship to the church in so many ways that Satan has worked so hard for centuries to try to tear down and destroy the sacred institution of marriage.
God laid out certain rules for His people to follow in order for them to have a happy and successful marriage. First, it is of vital importance for believers to marry believers. God specifically commands believers to not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). Time and time again, I have witnessed the heartaches, struggles and sorrow that are a result of believers who disobeyed the Lord in marrying unbelievers. In many cases, the unbelievers do not care for the things of the Lord; therefore, there are many conflicts within the home. If there are children in the home, it gets even more complicated as they will grow up seeing much contradictions between their parents. Even though God can still do a great work and bring about change in the family, there might still be heartaches and trials that the couple might have to go through before then. As long as the unbelievers refuse to get saved and get right with God, there will continue to be conflicts in the marriage.
God intended for marriage to be a life-time commitment, and that is why we make vows to our spouse that no matter what happens in life, we will never abandon them till death do us part. God often compares marriage relationship between a husband and a wife to Christ’s relationship to the church. Christ would never divorce or abandon His church, neither should a husband divorce his wife or vice versa (Mark 10:7-9).
As believers in Christ, we bring honor and glory to the Lord when we honor the marriage that God has blessed us with. We need to be on guard at all times. We need to pray for God’s protection upon our marriage and that He will draw us closer to Him and to each other. Together, we should strive to love the Lord and serve Him faithfully as a couple and family.
