Beloved Covenant

In this day and age, our children grow up really believing marriage is a 50/50 proposition without any real understanding of true covenant.

 They come of age, rent a tux, buy a gown, and stand before somebody who will ask them some very serious questions.

Will you have this person to be your lawfully wedded? “I do,” they say to each other, and when they say that they mean they do as long as there’s something good in it for them.

Will you love and comfort, honor, and keep each other in sickness and in health? “I do,” he says, as long as she is who I think she should be and as long as she does what I think she should be doing.

Will you forsake all others and keep each other only as long as you both shall live? “I do,” she declares, as long as he makes me feel the way I should feel and as long as I am thrilled with being in love with this man.

And so, they agree that this marriage will be a 50/50 endeavor, and when they find out that marriage requires 100/100, they say, “I don’t anymore!”

You see, they fail because they are driven by feelings and not by covenant. This doesn’t make them bad people. It just makes them guaranteed to fail!

So, what is covenant? It’s the sold-out way of thinking that “all I have is yours and all you have is mine even if everything goes wrong.” Covenant is a “no matter what” mentality and it’s how God thinks.

He wants you to think that way, too. Why? Because keeping your promises to God, yourself, your family, and others produces integrity, character, and reliability. All three are needed for a successful partnership and real relationship with God.

For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken, says the LORD who has compassion on you. – Isaiah 54:10