Mark 10:7-9 “FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer
two, but one flesh. "What therefore God has joined together, let no man
separate." (NASB)
It was
our anniversary two weeks ago. We
celebrated 31 years of marriage together by first going to CBCC for my daily
treatment and then to a very nice dinner.
When the girls in the radiation treatment area saw that my wife was with
me this particular visit (she had been before) they asked for the first time if
she would like to see what the machine looks like. I said I thought she would. They also asked if there was
some special reason she was with me this visit and I said it was our anniversary. And so, as I got on the table and prepared
for my treatment someone went out to get Sharon. She came in and got the nickel tour of the
treatment room while they got me in the correct orientation for my session.
Treatment
only takes about two minutes once everything is ready to go. So, in no time I was done and getting my
shoes back on when one of the girls came back in and asked, "How many years?" I said, "31".
She said, " What is the secret?"
Well …
I
contemplated my answer and then said, “A Christian marriage.”
Silence
…
After
the awkward moment I supplemented my answer with, “Making a promise and keeping
it.”
Well
that met with a little more overt support and discussion about how few could
and did actually make and keep commitments or promises these days.
Since
then I’ve had a chance to think more about this encounter and the truth of the
situation. Statistically my first answer
may be untrue as we see virtually the same divorce rate occurs among
Christians and non-Christians. So,
perhaps that’s just not it. So, what
about my second or follow-up answer around making a promise and keeping
it? Perhaps that is getting closer to the
truth.
I can
say that in my marriage we are together today because we have both made a commitment
and are very determined to keep the commitment.
Maybe we're both just that stubborn. We would also very readily confess we are not the easiest people to live
with and there are plenty of witnesses to that over the years but we have lived
by our promise.
I
believe however it is the promise itself that must be examined in order to
fully appreciate its power and perhaps render strength to my original answer. In the marriage ceremony several questions
are asked of the couple with regard to the commitment they are making. Those questions of commitment or covenant are
where the power of a lasting marriage are derived. Perhaps the power of the promise is not even
fully understood at the time but is appreciated after the fact and strengthened
with understanding.
The
fact is that the promises made in the marriage ceremony are not simply between
the husband and wife but between husband, wife and the Lord. Sharon and I agree that our promise was not
just to one another but to God Himself as well.
In some way making that promise to love honor and cherish all the days
of my life was strengthened with the knowledge that it was made not just to my
wife but to God. I know Sharon feels the
same way too.
So the
scripture says, "What therefore God has joined together,
let no man separate." I’ll not be the one to argue,
disagree, object or rebel. AMEN!
No comments:
Post a Comment