And the word alliance must be understood. It must be understood in such a way that it is significantly different from a simple contract — a contract that can be cancelled by certain reservations or even at the whim of one of the parties. And we don`t have time tonight to get into all this discovery of the covenant. But if, for example, you are in your free time, if you are inclined to do so, you can read in Genesis 15 how God makes a covenant with Abraham and the solemnity of everything that happens is represented by death and darkness. [6] And indeed, the covenant would have to be made on pain of death if this alliance were to be broken. Even though the idea of an alliance seems quite radical today, there was a time when alliances were understood much more broadly. Covenants have not always been an obscure spiritual or religious concept. A contract can also be concluded by two people in secret. I can enter into a confidential contract with someone who will only be available to the public if that person violates that contract, and I involve the judicial authorities.

My signatures and his signatures will be proof that such a confidential contract has been concluded. Marriage cannot be celebrated in secret, even a runaway cannot be composed only of a man, a woman and a judge, there must also be witnesses. A public oath must be taken for the marriage. And for this reason, the most careful vigilance in the most routine things of life is absolutely imperative, and that the way we approach the issues of marriage, anticipating them as young fiancés, living the first days as young married couples, surviving the middle years and leading them to the end in the last cycles of life, It is absolutely imperative that we approach it not with some kind of superficial optimism or terrible pessimism, but with realism—a realism that actually contains a healthy dose of skepticism so that we can cultivate it as God wills. Well, in the time I have tonight, I just want to dive into the subject with you. And I want you to realize above all that is nothing new to you, but simply this: that marriage is God`s idea, that God commanded in the beginning that it should be so. Marriage is of divine origin. This needs to be said in this day and age, where there is such widespread confusion around them, especially in all the mainstream discourse about same-sex marriage, which is probably inevitable in this country right now, because we have opened the door to it through conversations and other things. I would be very surprised if we did not implement it before the end of the century. I hope not, but I would be surprised if it wasn`t.

Nevertheless, Christians have a great motivation to love with an “I want because” commitment. When the apostle Paul speaks of marriage in Ephesians 5, he reminds us that Christian marriage is modeled on Christ`s love for the church. We are to love our spouse in the same way that Jesus loves His church – and Jesus` pattern of loving His church is indeed based on an “I want because” mindset. God`s relationship with His people is defined by a covenant, not a contract. Not only is He faithful to us in proportion to our commitment, but He loves us far beyond what we deserve. God does not care about us or meet our needs in response to what we do for Him; He cares for us and loves us because He is God and is committed to us. And indeed, it made God incredibly vulnerable – until death! He kept His commitment to us, even if it meant being nailed to the cross and dying. This is the extent of His love for us. If we understand how God`s covenant loves us, how can we not help but love in the same pattern? Losing sight of God`s covenant with us and shaping our relationship with God in the form of a contract distorts our understanding of who God is and how He thinks of us. And it binds us completely, so we are never close to reaching our full potential.

Now, of course, we have confidence that our children, once they have been raised, will make decisions. We don`t really believe in arranged marriages. But we mean that when marriages are founded and based on emotional surges and physical attraction, they are largely open to the possibility of disintegration when the feeling has disappeared and the body succumbs to the devastating effects of gravity. But when a marriage is based on friendship and companionship and the awareness of an endless covenant, no matter what, then the chances of survival are greatly improved. With an agreement, both parties agree to set their objectives, whether or not the other party respects their part of the agreement. The breach of an alliance by one party does not matter, as does the responsibility of the other party to continue to do what it has agreed. Many of us can honestly say that we entered marriage with a deep desire to help the person we wanted to marry. Our intention was to make them happy.

However, if needs are not met, spouses may revert to a contractual mentality. God created marriage and blessed it. God celebrated the very first marriage at the end of Creation Week and blessed the new couple. His union of Adam and Eve exemplifies God`s ideal for marriage: a man and a woman united in a lifelong commitment to one another and worked together to form strong, godly families. Marriage by covenant is God`s plan. There may be contracts in the context of covenant marriage, but for the Christian, marriage is a covenant. God`s best in marriage will never be attained without His power. A fundamental question that should be asked at the beginning of any discussion about the future of state marriage management is simply this: these days he left the car in Park `N Fly. And on Fridays, he would sometimes go straight to the golf club when he took the early flight.

Although Karen felt he needed the space created by those nine holes, she secretly wished it was a little more like the good old days. He was a good provider, didn`t miss school lectures, and certainly hadn`t developed one of those horrible pot bellies like many of his friend`s husbands. It seemed that her heart had been pounding for a long time and her breath had become short, but there was, she thought, much to be said about good old faithfulness. Imagination had never been Alan`s strong suit, and predictability was better than nothing. “It would be fun,” she thought, “just once, to… Then she caught up and reheated her coffee in the microwave. If only there was a way to microwave their wedding. Sixth, a covenant implies holiness, whereas a treaty does not. Because marriage is a covenant, marriage is sacred.

This is why we call marriage “holy marriage.” Saying your partner is “holy” doesn`t mean he or she is perfect. Holiness means that your husband or wife is chosen for a higher purpose – he or she is no longer ordinary or ordinary, but special and unique. When you get married, your spouse becomes sacred to you. No other person in the world deserves the same level of commitment, respect, honor and attention. The relationship you share as a man and woman is unlike any other. And it turns out that in marriage, a man and a woman are bound in a way that is unlike any other human relationship. It`s absolutely unique. This is not a bad arrangement. It must not be abandoned at will. It is a binding commitment that includes laws, physical aspects, emotions, and spiritual dimensions. Some of you may be thinking, “Well, our marriage is not what it should be.” It`s their fault” or “it`s his fault.” Please allow God to speak to you today.

Decide today: “I`m in this business for better or worse, no matter what. It`s not about me; It`s about us. Mutual submission. One of my best friends with whom I played football all the years we were together in college, Frank Gamble, who rarely showed up for LBC conferences before half-past ten, whose hair ran down his back and whose fingers moved intelligently on the frets of a guitar with the expertise of an aspiring Eric Clapton. who was one of the funniest kids you can meet – in July, I deliberately went to his house with one of my other friends to find him in his wheelchair, absolutely doubly crouching, like that. And when he spoke to me, he had to raise his head that way. Glenda, his wife, cuts his food, puts his glass in the right place and moves the straw for him. During ten solid years of twenty-two years of marriage, she was an absolute treasure in this man`s life. And some of you sitting here thought about running for it. “Because your porridge was burned? Because he worked seventy hours a week? Don`t be so stupid. There are others who live with partners who have episodes of depressive illness, blindness and multiple sclerosis, and they remain a living testimony to us of their commitment to accompany the alliance.