The messed-up, jumbled-up interpretation of marriage that we see today is not how it was meant to be. It is not God’s original design for the holy institution of marriage. We need to remind ourselves often of His purposes as written in His Word: “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (Isa. 55:11). This word applies to your marriage. No matter how broken it may seem, God has spoken His word over it and promises you that it will accomplish what He has planned. Now that’s something to shout about!
In Mark 10:9, the Bible says, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (KJV). The phrase “put asunder” is the Greek word chorizo, which means “to place room between.” The instruction is clear: do not minimize God’s plan for marriage by regarding it as a contract rather than a covenant. The implication, however, extends even further. In marriage, we are not to allow any room for the thought that “my marriage is beyond repair,” or “my marriage is beyond hope.” It is a firm declaration that nothing, when submitted to almighty God, can tear asunder what God has joined together. My question to you is, have you tried doing marriage right, meaning God’s way? Singles, do you have high expectations for the person you will spend the rest of your life with? That begins with expecting to spend the rest of your life with that person. God’s plan works every time, and His words regarding marriage will not return empty but will produce the promised fruit and achieve His divine purpose when we obey them. Can anyone have an awesome marriage? Yes, anyone who lives by the covenant conditions, that is. Does that mean a Christian marriage will be without problems? Does it mean that every day will be a honeymoon, that you will feel nothing but the exhilaration of love for your spouse all day every day? Does it mean you will never fight, and if you do, then you must have failed? All those questions and more will be answered in the following chapters.
Let me wrap up this chapter with Isaiah 61:3–4: “To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.” Brothers and sisters in Christ, if your marriage seems like ashes, know that God has a crown of beauty waiting for you. He has a joyous blessing to replace the mourning of lost love, and He will even rebuild the ruins of your life to the repair of future generations, your children.
If you are just beginning your years as a couple, make sure you are using the Word of God as a compass for your journey together. If you start on a long trek with your compass one or two degrees off, the longer you travel, the farther off track you will become. Start right and you’ll finish right, and everything in between will be on track as well. Friends, listen, meeting covenant conditions cannot yield unsatisfactory results. The Word of God applied to any marriage will not—cannot—return empty, but it will produce the fruit that God has promised. And that is the fruit of two people, one man and one woman, made one flesh under the covenant conditions of a holy God.
Marriage—is it a contract between two human beings or a covenant with a holy God? Your answer to that question may well determine the future of your marriage. But as for me, I have fully embraced the fact, as stated in God’s Word, that marriage is a holy institution with conditions attached, a divine plan that assures every couple that their marriage can be filled with all the good things God intended in His original design.
Excerpt from “Happily… Even After” now available on Amazon.
