Marriage

God is the Matchmaker, the Wedding Planner. He brings a man and a woman into the covenant of marriage, a union so sacred that he commands, "what God has joined together, let no man put asunder." Marriage is not a covenant between a couple and their families, or a man and his father, or any other friend or family relationship: it is a covenant between a man, a woman, and their God. When I married my husband, I entered into a covenant with my husband. Not his family. Not my family. Not our friends. I entered into it with him and God alone. It is binding. It is sacred and it is the only relationship spoken of in the Bible which God himself says, "don't mess with it. Don't come between a man and his wife." Marriage is not about power. Marriage is designed to reflect God's glory, to show His redemptive love story through two sinful people. It is honoring, humbling. Like God pursues us, we are to constantly pursue our spouse. Like God selfishly loves us, we are to love our husband or our wife. Like God forgives and bestows grace, we are to forgive and bestow grace. It is a thought process of constantly reminding ourselves "the way God has loved me needs to be shown in how I love my husband. This marriage is not about me. It is about God and bringing glory to Him."

Sin is destructive. Sin comes between us and God. It doesn't make Him reject us, or refuse to love us, but sin does damage the fellowship that we have with God. That is why confession is so important: it restores fellowship. It isn't designed for God, it is designed for us. But if we don't confess and repent of our sin, it damages our relationship with God and with those around us. Sin is a disease and the only cure is the blood of Jesus. We must, as God commanded the Israelites, "circumcise our hearts" and slay the sin within before it causes irreparable damage. Similarly, the Bible warns of foxes who can damage and destroy love's vineyard. In fact, the issue of foxes is so important that Solomon says, "catch the foxes, the foxes that ruin the vineyards!" So if there is something that causes destruction in your marriage, be it sin or someone trying to put your marriage "asunder," it needs to be stopped. Period. Regardless of a person's reason to put a wedge in your marriage, that person is wrong and is in sin. He is violating God's command of treating a marriage with sacredness and respect.

Protect your marriage. Honor and respect it. And if a man is not for your marriage, he is against it and should be kept with a watchful eye, as an enemy within the city gates.