A Promise is a Promise

 "'This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,' declares the Lord. 'I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'" Jeremiah 31:33

    Marriage is a trip. Two strangers of the opposite sex meet, fall in love and begin a lifelong expedition which takes them all over the place. Sometimes, there are lush Edens of happiness and other times, the two seem to be stuck in the Molasses Swamp of Candyland.

    Pondering traditional marriage vows, when we enter the covenant of holy matrimony, we are vowing "to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part." I have not always kept my promises, but I have confessed my brokenness and rejoined the expedition with David, my husband.

    Since marriage is ordained by God, it's no surprise to note that it is fashioned by His covenant of love for us, His people. Our relationship with God is a covenant, a binding agreement between two parties. Both marriage and our walk with Christ involve love, sacrifice, faithfulness, union and a lifelong commitment.

     Picture being the bride of Christ, adorned in His righteous robes, standing solemnly beside Him before the Father, being joined for all eternity for better or for worse. In a voice cloaked by emotion, you vow to love and cherish Him, knowing you can only do so by the help of the Holy Spirit, which He then gives you as you slip on the ring of baptism. His sacred words are then etched upon your heart, your sheer love for Him becomes evident in your life.

    I heard a radio sermon this week given on John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The preacher encouraged me to replace the words, "the world" with my name in order to grasp the personal invitation. "For God so loved Rachel that He gave..."  

    What if I, in response to this covenant of love, declared, "For Rachel so loved God that she gave..." What would I give? My heart, soul, mind and strength. I would give Him my all.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." Mark 12:30