‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Genesis 2:24(NLT)
‘Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”’ Matthew 19:6(NLT)
‘and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, ‘ Mark 10:8(NLT)
Our first venture as entrepreneurs was in real estate. We started a real estate investing company that purchased single family houses that were in disrepair or bank-owned through foreclosure. I probably looked at thousands of houses and signed purchase offers on hundreds of them. However, I didn’t become the owner of all of those houses, not even all the ones that we had signed a purchase agreement.
I learned to always use a contingency clause that would allow us to back out of our agreement if we discovered something about the property we didn’t like. Using contingency clauses gave me the freedom to make offers, sign agreements, and even fall in “love” with houses knowing it wasn’t permanent. It’s a great clause for real estate transactions, but a terrible one for marriage.
When we say “I do” to our spouses, before our friends and family and before God, we shouldn’t treat that agreement the same as I did in real estate. No, it’s more than that. A commitment in marriage is more than an agreement contingent upon one or both persons doing certain things. It’s a covenant with unconditional promises.
This is the mindset we must enter into and keep in marriage. Once we commit with “I do,” we have made an unconditional agreement that should not be separated by any man or woman.
Spend some time praying with your spouse asking God to show you how to live out this covenant relationship. Then write a letter of promise to your spouse about why you are committed to your marriage until death and that you’ll honor this commitment no matter what.
from The 7 Rings Of Marriage