Freedom is Good News Part 155

The covenant that a man and woman make with each other as they take their vows before two witnesses is typically called a marriage covenant.  This is, for all intents and purposes, a covenant of “relationship”.  The two parties vow to love and honor each other, forsaking all others in faithfulness and to do so “as long as you both shall live”.

This event with these words binds the two together in holy matrimony so that a new beginning in their relationship can take place.  For although the two may have known each other for quite some time, the vows and commitments made on that day allow the two to start to build a relationship unlike any other found between two human beings.

The bible teaches that the church (i.e. the called out ones) will become the bride of Jesus Christ the Savior.  We began considering this topic a couple of months ago and it is now time to ask the question of all of you reading this article; are you, as a child of God, as one who seeks a relationship with your Redeemer, ready to make a commitment to Him, to love and honor Him, forsaking all others and being faithful to Him in all of your ways?

This truly is serious stuff!!  To make a commitment to God is indeed the most serious decision one will ever make in their lifetime.  It is more than choosing a life time partner in marriage.

“Wait a minute, Bill; this is just supposed to be a nice little article filled with good news – what is all this about a most serious decision?  Can’t I just live my life and dabble in the idea of Christianity at my own convenience?”  Perhaps we should ask God the Father and His Son about this.

Jesus put it this way in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”  Does that fit your lifestyle?  Or how about Jesus putting a prerequisite on discipleship in Luke 14:33, “… any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” 

And then there is Paul; a man who would give up everything so as to be found preaching the gospel.  Here is what he says in Philippians3:7-8, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”  Now this was a man who was serious about his relationship with Christ!!

Paul goes on to say in Philippians, “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”  Are you married?  What is there that you wouldn’t do for your spouse?  Sometimes God asks for difficult things to see if we are serious in our devotion to Him.