“The most foundational thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is God’s doing. And the most ultimate thing to see from the Bible about marriage is that it is for God’s glory.”  Pastor John Piper

I am thankful that marriage was and is God’s idea. If the idea simply came from me or Jerry we likely would have given up on it in some of our tougher days (and we have a pretty good marriage!).

The Bible does not waste any time introducing marriage as part of the creation text. Genesis 1:27 is the first verse to speak to Gods creation of male and female created in His image.    Later in Genesis 2:18-25 we read, Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” . . . So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Marriage is the first human relationship God designed and implemented. That may seem like a no brainer thought to you but, if you are like me sometimes I need to be reminded of the obvious. When pressure builds and competing demands fill the schedule marriage may begin to take a backseat.

When not given it’s proper priority and foundation upon God’s design ,marriage may become a caregiver/care receiver relationship, co-parenting from the same home, or two individuals who co-exist with or without a shared purpose.

For those of you who may read the above and think this is all just “Bible talk,” consider these words of Cicero shared by Veronica Arntz here  “. . . this belief about the importance of marriage did not only come from the Catholic Church, for it was held even by pagans for centuries before the time of Christ. As Cicero writes in De Officiis (On Duties), “The first fellowship exists within marriage itself, and the next with one’s children…Indeed, that is the principle of a city and the seed-bed, as it were, of a political community”

Let’s each take a moment today and ask ourselves what is one thing I can do this week to reinforce the foundation of my marriage and show my spouse that they are my number one priority and focus (after our relationship tie God of course). I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Please share them below or email joan@joanborton.com. In next week’s post I’ll share with you what I did!