Elder's Corner: The Way God Intended

I found the following devotional that I would like to share with you. From the NIV New Men's Devotional Bible by Zondervan.

 

--Enrique

 

“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with all his wealth, his offer would be utterly scorned” (Song 8:6-7)

 

Marriage as a concept lies deep within us. Preschoolers role-play the family unit as part of their playground fun. Preteen girls dream of the day when they’ll walk down the aisle in a flowing white gown. Matchmaking businesses and websites thrive as people look for that perfect person to spend the rest of their lives. The majority of adults here in the USA either are, have been or someday intend to be married. Such hopefulness in the face of a consistent 50% divorce rate! And yet, despite the well-publicized antics of the Hollywood, marriage remains one of the key building blocks of family life and society as a whole. And that’s just what God intended.

One scholar said, “marital love is the strongest, most unyielding and invincible force in human experience.” Despite the failure of individuals, the bar of God’s expectations for marriage is set sky-high. True, lasting marital love involves deep integrity on the part of both parties. To paraphrase: “Money can’t buy me love.”

The power of marriage lies in the power of a promise, sealed with God’s stamp of approval, that one man makes to one woman. The promise to love another person “until death do you part” is as deep a commitment as one can make in this life. As one pastor put it, “The power to make and keep a promise is one of the strongest in the world, for it brings the promise maker within a millimeter of what it means to be like God, who makes and keeps his promises to his people.”

True, enduring, lifelong commitment is God’s expectation for marriage, and it has been since the Garden of Eden. That’s not to say that God expects us to be perfect as we relate to one another; we are, after all, still living under the effects of sin. But despite our failures, the goal for the respect we are to show toward the institution remains the same, “for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave” (Song 8:6).

To Take Away

• Are you married? If you answered yes, how does your marriage stack up to God’s expectations for the institution?
• If you’ve never been married, what is your perspective on what this passage could mean for your future?
• If you’re not married now but have been in the past, how can this passage influence your opinions and actions?