Appreciate marriage as the great gift it is

I have a VCR that isn’t working, and yes, I know that VCRs are old technology.

Today people are downloading videos off the Internet and watching them on their phones. But I still have some video tapes I want to watch, so I need a VCR. The thing that frustrates me is that it is cheaper to buy a new VCR than it is to have my broken VCR fixed. There is something wasteful about this economy that I don’t like. Maybe you feel the same way.

Do you realize, however, that we often think and act the same way about marriage? This may be stretching the analogy, but often it seems easier to get a new marriage than to fix the old one, so the old marriage is thrown out.

Marriage is on my mind because our church is holding a marriage retreat this weekend and I have been working hard for the past few days to prepare for the retreat. Do you know what Jesus says about marriage? In Matthew 19 Jesus quotes Genesis 2, and then gives some practical application.

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh … so they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Please hear Jesus’ words as encouragement rather than condemnation. Marriage, like any relationship, can be difficult. There are times, such as in the instance of unfaithfulness, abuse or desertion, that God himself gives permission for divorce. But God does not intend marriage to be a burden. God intends marriage as a gift to help us share the burdens of life. I can tell you as we approach Valentine’s Day that I am incredibly blessed to have God’s gift of my wife, Kathy. I can say Biblically and personally that in many ways she completes me. I am more of what God intended me to be because of my wife. What a gift!!

Marriage still has its trials. That is why it is good to know that married couples don’t just bear the burdens of life with one another, but we have an even greater resource for help and strength. Did you see what Jesus said in Matthew 19:6?

“Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Marriage is not just held together by love, which changes. A couple is not kept together only by commitment, which can weary a person. It is not just kept strong by hard work. Though love and commitment and effort, all help to strengthen marriages. Jesus says, “Therefore what God has joined together …”

By his plan for creation, by his forgiveness in Jesus, by the presence of his spirit in our lives and through his family, the Church, God is joining us together. He not only gives the gift, he helps us to keep it alive and strong.

As Valentine’s Day reminds us of the world’s tribute to romantic love, I pray God blesses the marriages of our congregation and our community with a Godly love of giving, forgiving and sacrifice. Thankfully, we don’t have to depend on ourselves. God himself is joining us together.

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer.

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