you can be like many of us and may ask yourself, “What does covenant really mean anyway?” If your were to look up covenant [dictionary.com – of course :)], here is what you would find:
- an agreement, usually formal
- a solemn agreement
- to promise by covenant; pledge
Sounds pretty dry doesn’t it? In fact, it seems that there is an entire generation that is not seeking covenant; possibly because of a lack of understanding the joy & beauty in promising to love a man or a woman for the rest of their natural lives.
There are many beautiful passages of Scripture that we believe provide great advice for those who are entering a marriage covenant.
The one that speaks deeply of covenant to us is when Jesus spoke in the book of John, “Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” One of the great missionaries of our day, Heidi Baker, has a famous quote: “laid down lovers of Jesus.”
A beautiful portrayal of covenant. A deep intimate relationship developed out of commitment, respect & honoring one another. Most of us will probably never be faced with the decision to take a “bullet” for another person, yet “laying down ones life” for another sounds really amazing; it sounds a lot like “covenant.”
Preferring, deferring, listening, yielding to one another is so necessary, yet can sound a little dry [dictionary.com – you know what we mean :)] Yet this ‘marriage covenant thing’ can be considered a great adventure when you look at it from a heavenly perspective. Looking for the “gold” in each other, the potential, the deep desires of the heart… yes you already know this, yet the depths of this adventure are endless, eternal, extremely deep. It is a covenant to help each other be all that you can be.
You could go to Africa to touch an “unreached people” group [in which many of you probably do :)]. Yet what about the unreached “potential” in the one you havecovenanted with? Partnering ,or “covenanting,” with heaven adds an even greater dynamic to your relationship as you plunge into the depths to search out what God has “hidden” for you to find. Covenanting or agreeing to help each other be all that God has designed you to be means your marriage can be unstoppable – you will never stop growing in your love for each other.
No greater love than this, than when you lay down your life for one another.
Much Love, Brian