Most, if not all of you, may not be aware of this, but today is my wedding anniversary.  This gives me the opportunity to share some thoughts on a crucial cornerstone of both the Right and Left Hand Kingdoms, namely, marriage; for strong marriages make for strong Kingdoms.

The Bible makes it crystal clear that marriage is an institution established by God (Genesis 2:18-25).  It is a gift from God and not an invention of society.  In other words, marriage was and is God’s idea.  Because marriage is a divine institution it must therefore be defined in God’s terms.  After all, He created it; He determined its inner structure; and He appointed for it its purpose and goals.

Marriage is to be a monogamous (one man and one woman) union (Genesis 2:24-25), a faithful union (Hebrews 13:4), and a permanent union, as expressed in the vows “’til death do us part” (Matthew 19:6b; Malachi 2:16).

In addition, marriage is a partnership of two providing oneness of purpose (Genesis 2:24), companionship (Genesis 2:18), and correspondence (Genesis 2:23).  The partnership is sealed by a pledge on the part of both individuals.  Marriage is a covenant expressed in vows and witnessed by God (Malachi 2:14).  Marriage is also a solemn commitment because it represents a relationship between Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:22-25).

And speaking of this commitment, I’m reminded of the wedding sermon Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote from his Nazis prison cell for his niece in May of 1943.  He wrote, “It is not your love that sustains your marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love” [page 43, Letters & Papers From Prison].

What did Bonhoeffer mean?  Well, Jesus, our Bridegroom, would and did say: “go and learn what this means” (Matthew 9:13).

Happy Anniversary, honey!  My only regret is that we didn’t marry sooner!!

For the sake of Church and State, may the holy estate of matrimony be forever blessed, all to the glory of God!