Is Marriage Worth Fighting For?

At Converting Hearts, Dustin and I work with so many hurting men and women...broken marriages and nearly destroyed families. We have a passion to fight for these marriages because our marriages, filled with the grace of God, are one of the most beautiful pictures for the lost world to see the Gospel. If Christian marriages are filled with sin and divorce, the lost world will see divorce and brokenness when someone begins talking about the love of Christ for his Bride, the Church. When we talk about God's faithfulness, they will immediately see the unfaithfulness of His followers. Yes, Dustin and I believe there is so much joy in a marriage that is founded on Christ, but it is not just the companionship we are after. The reason we help couples fight for horrible marriages to be glorious and hope-filled is because our Creator God's Name is at stake. We fight because we believe the battlefield for Godly marriage and family is the most deliberate fight tactic Satan in using to see the Name of God tarnished (ruined) in those who are lost.

So our plea...don't settle for an okay marriage and don't give up on a terrible marriage...FIGHT to have a marriage that glorifies God Almighty and is a display of the grace and Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians are called to be a witness to the nations, so that the lost call on the Name of this Almighty God that moves in such incredible ways through His people. And if you need help because your marriage is hurting, seek help from your church and a biblical counselor to help carry this burden. Don't give up...never give up...more than your happiness is at stake--fight for the Gospel and the eternity of many who are lost. Fight for a Christ-centered, flourishing and fulfilling marriage, and proclaim the Gospel loudly through it!



Some more thoughts:
Divorce in current American culture is not only practiced, but sought after as a simple solution to marital woes. Counselor, Jay Adams appropriately conveys the concept of divorce as unbiblical; therefore, he instructs Christians to do all they can to understand it and to teach what God, and his Word, says about it. Adams states, unlike marriage, divorce is a human institution; for God in his perfection designed marriage to be permanent.

The very opening words of Scripture, lay the foundation for God’s design of marriage: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24, NIV). Jesus utterly condemns divorce as contrary to the divine institution of marriage held at creation (e.g., Matt. 19:6). As theologian John Murray puts it, “Divorce is the breaking of a seal which has been engraven by the hand of God.”

Marriage is a covenant (Prov. 2:16-17; Mal. 2:14); it is defined as a sacred bond between a man and a woman established by and publicly entered into before God; as “an agreement that a faithful person would not break even if the partner to whom that person is in covenant breaks the stipulations of the covenant.”

The New Covenant established by Christ with his church, in the mind of the Paul (Eph. 5:22-33) was a permanent relationship created by a redemptive act of love when Christ “gave himself up for it he might sanctify, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, it he might present the church to himself a glorious church.” This is the model marriage is to form after, even though imperfect at times.