This month we are looking at some of the huge challenges we face every day. One of the greatest of those challenges is broken and injured families. The writer of Hebrews concluded his book discussing practical life problems we face daily. In that section of chapter 13 he pleaded for hospitality in the home. He pointed out that marriage was to be held in honor all the time. But to maintain such honor for marriage it is absolutely necessary to maintain sexual loyalty in the marriage. God made the man and woman as sexual beings. One of the marvelous blessings of creation was the companionship of sex in the marriage. Inside marriage sex is holy, pure and undefiled. But if we practice sexual relations outside of marriage, either as pre-marital sex or as sex with someone other than our wife or husband it is immorality or it destroys the marriage. Sex in the marriage is a means of giving oneself fully to their partner as one flesh. Sex out of the marriage dishonors the marriage and God who gave it.
Throughout time there have been challenges of immoral behavior. But there are few times in all of history when the attacks have been as blatant as they are now. Satan has worked overtime to take the honor out of marriage. He longs to turn it into just another relationship, like a contractual partnership, but not a one-flesh bond. He longs to turn us away from the image of God place of honor we hold and convince us that we are simply animals and ought to practice the same biological, “in heat” kinds of sex in the rounds as practiced in the animal kingdom regularly.
How do we maintain the honor in marriage? First, remember that both you and your partner are image-bearers and how you relate to each other demonstrates the image we have from God. Second, when we are completely loyal to each other in the marriage it demonstrates that we left all others to be glued to our partner for life and that our love will grow constantly as we live and love together. Third, it is vital to remember God’s place in our marriage. Notice, marriage came from God. It was God who said it wasn’t good for a man to be alone and made the woman and brought her to the man. It is God who joins us together as one flesh. It is God who judges those who fail to maintain the morality of sex in the marriage only. Instead of gauging the success of our marriage on the amount of things we can accumulate, we must remember that we aren’t alone. God is always with us, helping us to build and maintain the relationship of marriage as we are committed to him each day.
Your marriage is one of the greatest blessings you can ever have in this world. Give yourself fully to the marriage and to your partner. Never allow Satan to pull you away from your devotion to each other or to God. If you stand together, you can withstand the greatest challenges the world can throw at you since you stand together with each other and with God Almighty.
Leon Barnes
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