Bonds of Marriage

Relationship between husband and wife is often likened to the betrothal of God to the Church as His bride. There are five (5) important bonds in a happy marriage as shown in Hosea 2:19 "I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy; 20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord."


In order for a marriage to last forever, the couple should practice the following:


1. righteousness...both husband and wife should follow the teachings and commandments in the Bible. God should be the center of their lives...the couple should give priority to God in their lives as commanded for them to seek first the kingdom of God and everything shall be added unto them. All their needs will be met if only they should please God first everyday of their lives. It is a promise, and God cannot lie...His words shall come to pass as sure as the sun rises in the morning.



2. justice...there should be fairness in marriage...equality between husband and wife. In Ephesians 5:22-33, the wife is commanded to submit to her husband, and the husband, in turn, should love his own wife as himself. Let the wife see that she respects her husband, and the husband show love to his wife as he loves his own body.


3. lovingkindness...goodness of the heart should always be present in marriage. The wife should always see to it that her husband's needs are met...cook for him delectable meals that he will enjoy eating, always make sure that his clothes are clean and ready to use, the home as comfortable and inviting for him to relax and enjoy the evening after a hard day's work, and think of ways to give him joy and happiness. The husband, in turn, should supply the needs of his wife...food, clothing, home, recreation every once in a while, dining out on special occasions, a surprise gift of her favorite chocolate and reassuring her every now and then that she is the love of his life thru sweet messages either by words of mouth or pen and ink.


4. mercy...are you forgiving to your spouse? We tend to keep score in our relationship, remembering the negative points when our spouse fails us, hurt us or slights us, or in any way blows our trust. It was Peter who asked Jesus how many times must we forgive. Jesus answered, "seventy times seven". Can you imagine forgiving your spouse 490 times? It only means countless...endless.



5. faithfulness...how many times have you been unfaithful to your spouse? Did you know that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart? (Matthew 5:28). Marriage is sacred and binding and no one must separate what God has joined together. It is true that there are many problems you will encounter in your marriage life...storms that are here today and gone tomorrow. All of them shall pass as they always will. There are also thousands of distractions...taking care of the kids, paying the bills, stress at work, illnesses in the family, huge tuition fees, rising cost of living, etc. ... all these can make love fly out of the window. But if you are both Christians, these problems can even draw you closer as you unite to solve them all. It is a choice that you make...a decision or commitment you promise to keep for better or worse, in sickness or in health, till death do you part.