Last weekend we had our first marriage retreat at the Sanctuary Covenant Church. Over 50 couples attended and we had a great time. As I prepared my talks for this weekend, I had some new thoughts from Scripture on marriage. As I read Scriptures on marriage and prayed for wisdom for the talks I was to give at the retreat, I couldn’t help but wonder why so many Christian marriages end in divorce. I’ve read a number of articles on Christians and marriage that state that over half of Christian marriages don’t last. What’s up with that? Maybe it’s because Christians and non-Christians alike share something in common when it comes to marriage; both groups think marriage is primarily about them. Herein lies the problem.

As I revisited Genesis chapters 2 and 3, I saw something within these Scriptures that led me to see marriage differently. Marriage is primarily about God and then it’s about us. To experience marriage God’s way, we must see marriage as an extension of God’s love and a expression in the earthly realm of what the kingdom of God is about. Marriage is a Covenant between one man and one woman that is to provide a picture to the world of the Covenant God desires with humankind. This Covenant between God and man was broken because of sin, but reestablished through Christ. Marriage is used as a metaphor throughout the New Testament in describing the relationship between Christ and the Church. This Covenant marriage is about the advancement of God’s Kingdom on earth. What if before the development of the church, Marriage was the first ministry God created, that thru it, the kingdom of God might be advanced? Puts a whole new take on, “be fruitful and multiply.” Read Genesis 1 thru 3 and see if God leads you to rethink marriage.