A Christian marriage can be beautiful if we acquire the necessary information about it from the right source. Holy Bible can be used as the source for true marriage standards. Various churches also teach people regarding marriages. But yet many church teachings on marriage are inadequate, non – biblical, male chauvinistic, demeaning to women, or just plain wrong in some cases.
Christian marriage is more than just the union of two Christians of the opposite sex. A Christian marriage is characterized governed by Christian principles that are taught in the Bible.
A Christian marriage that is productive and ever growing cannot be based on rules and responsibilities. Too many marriage ministries in churches are based on this rule mentality.
Family members have no right to interfere with the activities of a married couple.
Family members have no right or authority within the household of a married couple. The Bible says that the male will leave mother and father to cleave to his wife. He LEAVES them. It means that we have to severe ourselves from the influences and operations of our first family and cleave to our spouse to form a new family. We will be part of our first family but that family should not interfere with the family created by the union to the spouse. It is the responsibility of the couple to ensure that this is so.
The Genesis narrative does not mention love. It instead implies a union that is established when a man leaves his family to join to his wife. There are two major beliefs concerning the foundation of a Christian marriage. They are love and covenant.
A Christian marriage is not based on love nor can it be. This is very important, else the marriage will be very strained after only the first few years or so. Very often the love begins to diminish or fade after awhile in a marriage relationship. We will discuss the reasons for this later in the study. If love were the basis of marriage the most of us would have a rough time at it. There will come a time in a marriage where the bliss, romance and infatuation, “love conquers all” mentality, and the newness of the marriage will wear off [unless you don’t let it]. Then love cannot sustain itself in a marriage relationship. It must be sustained by something external to it. This external energy source is more related to commitment than feelings for each other. Therefore a Christian marriage is not based or founded on love though love is a very important component in the marriage.
The covenant is not conditional. It is based on whether the husband or the wife remain a certain way or look a certain way. It is not conditional on the couple’s happiness or sex life. Love can remain if the commitment to the marriage remains. Happiness can be sustained if the commitment is maintained and acted upon. This clearly shows that the commitment – marriage involves a lot of work.
Therefore, the husband and wife in a Christian marriage must be dedicated to living a life pleasing to God and according to God’s ways – Living a life in Christ. Each person is striving to live their life according to the principles that are taught in the Bible for the New Testament Church as well as gleaning from the activities and instruction given in the Old Testament. Each person is striving to fulfill the God given purpose of their marriage. This will enable the husband and the wife to rely on a “force” outside of them to sustain them in their marriage. We are always accountable to Go so we are therefore responsible to ensure that our marriage remains a Christian one and that it remains vibrant, strong and a ministry in itself to others. |
