Americans have a warped sense of reality. We think we’re poor if we don’t make $30,000 per year. We think we have to be thin to be attractive. We think we’re good Christians if we go to church on Sundays. And we think marriage is simply a contract between individuals.

Long before people gathered together and formed governments, people were being given in marriage. Marriage is not a human invention; it was create by and for God. God, in His infinite wisdom, created humans with a deep desire for companionship with another human. But we do not need a mate to survive, and the Apostle Paul even encourages us not to marry. So why then does marriage exist?  Marriage was created to show us how to relate to God.

When Jesus walked the earth, he taught in parables. We simply did not, nor do we still, have the capacity to understand the truth about God’s kingdom without an analogy. And that is why marriage was created. Marriage shows the world the type of relationship that we are to have with God. It is a relationship based on love, and just as importantly, it is a lifelong relationship.

God, in His great love and grace, sent His only son, Jesus, to pay the penalty of physical and spiritual death that we all deserve. After three days, God rose Jesus to life to give us hope of eternal life with Him. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we enter into a covenant relationship with God. This relationship is not based on a written contract, nor is it based on performance. It is based on an irrevocable promise. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

As followers of Christ, sin no longer has a hold on us. But that does not mean we do not sin. And it is sin that caused the divide between God and man in the first place. So how do we live without being constantly concerned about sin? We hang our lives on God’s promise that He will save us. As Christians, we have great freedom. This freedom is not to be used to indulge in sin, but it is there so that we need not be obsessed with sin. “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13) We do not need to walk on eggshells in our relationship with Christ. If we fall, if we sin, if we fail time and again, Christ is there for us because of His great love for us. And this is the way marriage is designed to work as well.

Though the state considers marriage to be a contract, most marriages involve a covenant before God. Each individual promises to love the other through each and every circumstance for all of their days. Why make such a promise? So that we needn’t be constantly concerned about our spouse leaving the relationship. If there was no promise, a marriage relationship would be tedious at best. What if I say something to offend my spouse today? What if I mess up? What if I sin against them? They might simply pack up their bags and leave. It would be a relationship fraught with fear. But the covenant frees us to be who we are. As in our relationship with Christ, we should not use our freedom to sin against our spouse. But we need not worry about messing up. We trust that our spouse will stay with us through thick and thin. And in doing so, we will be forced to grow our relationship as we work through our problems.

Marriage is much more sacred that Americans can fathom. It is the model for our relationship with Christ, and it is one of the greatest witnessing tools that the church has as it’s disposal. “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 8:48)

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