Mark 10:9 “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
“You’re my forever stamp.” My husband teasingly said this to me recently. He described that no matter what we face, how fluctuating our health, our finances or life’s circumstances in general, he was sticking with me forever. Like a forever stamp, the value of the promises he made 52 years ago remain unaltered.
Hence the analogy. The value of a forever stamp never changes, no matter how many years ago it was purchased. The price paid in 2007 will still cover a standard first-class letter today. The promise stands inviolate…. the way wedding vows are supposed to be.
In his wisdom, God created marriage. Although folks try to reshape it, redefine it and reimagine it (I hate that term), marriage remains the highest solution to solving human loneliness. “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (Gen. 2:18). God loves us so much that he designed us to have life-long companionship. In marriage, he opened the door for us to share dreams, face troubles and generate family lines as no other relationship can do. He combines an XX chromosome and an XY chromosome and makes them One. Yes, it is a supernatural event! One the culture can’t replicate no matter how much it tries.
But, of course, all good things, all great things, never come struggle-free. We remain imperfect people in an imperfect world. The strongest marriages will certainly bear a few scars. Marriage intends to complete us, and sometimes, we just don’t feel like being “completed.” When this happens, the best we can do is return to the source. Ask the One who ‘joined us together” in the first place, to help us do what our fallen nature resists.
I pray all of us, whether married or single, cultivate a deep appreciation for this God-designed union. In a world marked with shifting alliances and broken promises, remember what Jesus said. To the best of our ability, let’s not separate what God has joined together.
Some things are meant to last forever.