This may come as a surprise to you, but the main purpose of marriage is not to produce children. Couples who cannot give birth are as married as couples who can. Jesus said, ‘A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ (v. 5 NKJV). When God looks at a parent and child, He sees two. When God looks at a brother and sister, He sees two. But when God looks at a husband and wife, He sees one. ‘Joined together’ means ‘to be glued to’. Do you ever feel like you’re stuck with the person you married? Well, you are! Marrying and becoming one flesh is not what two people do for each other, but what God does for them. Marriage is not a relationship joined together by culture, or the law, or sex, or even love. Marriage is what God joins together. And the good news is, when God joins you together, He can keep you together. (However, if you feel unsafe in your relationship, it is important to get help, and get away if you’re at risk.) Today the most popular reason for issuing a divorce decree is ‘irreconcilable differences’. But Jesus went to the heart of the matter – which is the matter of the heart. ‘Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so’ (v. 8 NKJV). God can soften your hearts towards one another, and He can open your hearts towards one another. You say, ‘But I’ve tried everything, and nothing works.’ Try God! He can change the heart of your spouse and give you a new future together.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.