No one can argue that technological advances have set an unprecedented pace for our society. Things move rapidly, so much so that sometimes we’re baffled. With the added accelerated pace, we’re busier than ever because the conveniences make life so much easier, but there are some negatives. One of them is how we interact with each other. Social media and the internet have enabled people to create a persona that is only a glimpse of who they really are, and very often it is the only part they want people to see. This makes it very easy for manipulators to prey on vulnerable people. Their game is to use online dating to manipulate people’s emotions, so that these individuals are convinced they’re in a full-fledged, meaningful relationship. There are also some people that approach this whole thing with a grocery store mentality and see online dating and social media connections as one-stop shopping; their only aim is the pursuit of physical pleasure. Despite these changes in interpersonal interactions, believers must remember that God never changes. His standard will always and forever be a requirement.
In Matthew 7:24-27(NLT), Jesus Christ taught, “24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” When a person becomes interested in having a serious relationship and getting married, they must understand first and foremost that marriage is the relationship God has in mind for male and female unions, and marriage is God’s institution. It is a beautiful union that He created and established for His purposes.
Marriage is one of the most important commitments we will make. It is birthed out of our commitment to God, and therefore marriage must be built on the solid foundation of Christ. Jesus Christ said in Luke 14:28(NLT), “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?” Our Master Jesus sets the parameters of our approach when it comes to building a solid foundation. We should know that anything worth its value is going to cost us. We will have to give up the less useful to acquire the more useful. Most of us are not too crazy about the idea of giving up those things that keep us comfortable, but this is how life works, and we might as well get used to it.
Marriage is a ministry, and ministry is service. A lot of us think of the girlfriend and boyfriend relationship as being a substitute for a marriage commitment, but as with everything, we must consider how it stacks up to God’s standard. Often in romantic interactions, we run the risk of not only injuring another person emotionally, but most importantly, we run the risk of injuring our relationship with God. The ‘try-on for size’ attitude and mentality has no place in His standard. We have to decide whether we are going to please Him or please ourselves. If pleasing Him is our goal, then we must allow His Word to be our foundation, so that everything we build on it will be pleasing to Heavenly Father and fulfilling to us as well.
We must do things God’s way in order to reap His harvest. He tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:12(NLT) “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Heavenly Father instituted marriage before He established the church through Jesus Christ. The husband and wife are meant to stand back to back, armed with the Holy Spirit’s sword of truth, which is God’s Word. Then they will guard their union from all enemy attacks. It is the strong cord established by the husband, wife, and Jesus Christ; with Christ being the head.
We cannot call it faith when we have no intention of honoring God’s standard. We also cannot come up with our own system and call it the truth. God’s Word is truth! Ephesians 5:25(NLT) tells us His requirement for the marital institution. It says, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.” Men and women are helpers to one another in the marital union, and God has made this very clear. Proverbs 18:22 says that a man that finds a wife finds a treasure. If he desires this treasure, he must make sure he is ready and committed to steward it, and the wife should make sure she is a treasure God deems worthy to be found.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
"The Strong Cord”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life© 2019. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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