I’ve often said that when God created mankind, He saved the
best till last. Think of it, Before God
made the human race, He created every universe, galaxy, and solar system. Before men and women walked on the earth, God
placed the stars in the sky and hung the sun and moon in its place. With
incredible creativity, God grew the trees, grass, and flowers. Birds were flying, deer were running, and
fish were swimming all before God created man.
He saved the best for last.
However, upon further study of the creation account found in
the Biblical book of Genesis, I have come to the conclusion that I was mistaken
when I said that the beginning of humanity was the last great act of creation. Though I still believe that men, women, boys
and girls are the prize of creation, the apple of God’s eye, there is one more
great invention of God. What is it you
ask? The answer is found in Genesis 2:
21-24,
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall
on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in
its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made
into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said: “This is now bone
of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
The last
great act of creation was the institution of Marriage.
Think for a moment about the incredible beauty and
complexity of marriage.
Marriage is a covenant…
A
covenant is a mutual bond that two person enter into in which they esteem the
other person greater than themselves. It is a vow of love, loyalty, leniency,
and longevity. Marriage is a promise
from one person to the next that says, “I
will romantically love no one other than you. I will stand beside you no matter
what. I will offer forgiveness and
promise to be understanding. I am yours from now until I draw my last breath.”
Some would say this view of the marriage covenant is old
fashioned and out of date with our modern society. Maybe that is so, but I ask you, would you really
want marriage to be anything other than a whole-hearted covenant?
Marriage is a union of two different persons becoming one.
Have
you ever heard the old saying, “Opposites
attract?” They really do. We are often attracted to someone whose life resembles
nothing of our own. My wife and I are
very different. I’m 6’3” tall and she is
5’1”. She was an extrovert in school and I was an introvert. When I saw her in High School for the first
time, she seemed to have it all together, smart, classy, popular and I was the
kid who was…well, none of those.
Opposites do attract. So, if you are looking for someone to marry who is
just like you, get ready, you may have a long wait.
God made us different.
In the beauty of His design, God purposed for a man and a woman to come
together, make a covenant with one another, accepting that their differences are
in fact the facets that make the other person fully whole. Friend, it is our differences that makes the
difference.
The topic of marriage and how it should be defined is a
daily headline in the media. It’s not
popular, but with an honest evaluation of the teachings of Scripture it is
clear that no matter how our society defines marriage, the marriage that God
recognizes and blesses is that between one man, and one woman making a
life-long commitment to one another.
Marriage is a picture of the relationship God desires to have with you…
Why do you believe the enemy
(devil) attacks the idea of marriage with such intensity? Is it because of what
marriage represents? I think so. Marriage is a picture of the relationship that
God wants to have with His followers.
When we pledge our faith in God through Jesus Christ our
Savior, we are making a covenant with God.
Not only are we pledging our love and loyalty to Him, but God is making
a covenant with us. God commits to us
His love, His loyalty, His leniency, and His longevity which is eternal life.
Marriage portrays the spiritual message that God who is
holy, unites with a sinner and thus makes the sinner pure and whole.
The Apostle Paul gives us a glimpse of this in Ephesians 5:
28-32,
“In this same
way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his
wife loves himself. 29
After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for
their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will
leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become
one flesh.”
32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the
church.”
On May 5th, my wife and I will celebrate 23 years
of marital bliss. This blog post is in
honor of her. Together, we have walked
side by side in times of laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, hope and despair,
hurt and healing. We can say there
really isn’t anything like marriage this side of heaven. It truly is God’s last
great act of creation.
Happy Anniversary Lisa
