Honor Marriage

God created relationships and all of life is impacted by them. Whether it’s relationships with friends, coworkers, children, relatives, a spouse or simply getting to know your local mail carrier, God intended us to operate in harmony with one another. However, without God being at the very center of it all, relationships will lack the true love and selflessness that give them the meaning God intended them to have.

Why is this? God created us first and foremost for a personal and intimate relationship with Himself. It is when our relationship with God is where it should be, that our relationships with others will be what God intended them to be. The significance of this truth is shown in the command to Honor Marriage which is highlighted in Matthew 19:5–6.

The Pharisees tempted Jesus by asking him if a woman could be divorced for “every cause.” Jesus knew the religious leaders’ hearts were hard, they dishonored marriage, and they were looking for “a way out” of upholding God’s law. He answered them by pointing straight back to the Creation account in Genesis. He quoted Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 reiterating God’s purpose and the permanence of marriage. But why is this so significant and how does it connect with the need to honor marriage?

In Ephesians 5 we find the key! From the beginning, marriage was actually designed to be a picture of something so much bigger—Christ and the covenant relationship He would have with believers! Just like a bridegroom preparing for his bride, Christ came to earth to make a way for us to have an eternal relationship with God.

He did this by selflessly laying down His life and becoming the sinless Lamb that took away the sins of the world! It is through the work that Christ accomplished on the cross that every person can now by faith freely enter into an eternal relationship with God. Christ not only became the Way for us to have a relationship with God, but He has also imparted to us His Spirit by which we can abide in perfect harmony with God!
One of the reasons honoring marriage is so important, is that the close relationship between a husband and wife is to be a picture of the love Christ shows to His Body, the Church. By honoring marriage we are actually honoring God and His eternal faithfulness to His covenant relationship with believers. It is as we obey this command through the Spirit’s power and ability, that we testify to the world of Christ’s tender love and care for His Bride and His soon return to take them home to be with Him for all eternity!