By Pr Samuel Namatiiti
Here below are five major facts on which marriage is founded:
- Marriage is one of the oldest institutions founded at the beginning of creation.
- Marriage was initiated, instituted and ordained by God. It wasn’t man’s idea.
- Marriage is built on irreversible covenant between man and woman (husband and wife).
- Marriage covenant is maintained by unconditional love.
- For the marriage to thrive a lifetime commitment, God has to be the center of focus.
Marriage, God’s oldest institution
All true Bible believers base their belief on the infallible word of God. They believe marriage is one of the oldest institutions initiated, instituted and ordained by God at the foundation of the Earth.
It has been and continues to be practiced and experienced by all known and unknown groups world over.
Marriage is found in all cultures. It is interesting to note that even other creatures show qualities of male-female relationship similar to decent human marriages.
However, marriage remains one of the institutions that have not been fully understood by humanity.
Some people believe marriage is when a man gets a woman to bear him children, while others believe in polygamy.
Polygamy
In many parts of Africa, polygamy has always been men’s prestige, and there are many who still believe polygamy is a religious ritual.
Others believe extremely beautiful women are prepared and reserved to be given to religiously faithful men after death.
I wonder why that kind of thinking favors men only. Why is there no belief that faithful women will each be rewarded with a number of handsome men?
This kind of belief has led many into suicidal terrorism, believing that the more people they kill the more beautiful women they will have as their reward after death.
This kind of thinking reminds us of Hosea 4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that you shall be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of God, I will also forget thy children.”
In Mark 12, Jesus gave us a clear picture of how life will be in Heaven, after the resurrection.
He did so when He answered a question from the Sadducees.
They wanted to know whose wife she would be, in Heaven, the woman who on Earth had been married to seven brothers, one after another, until all the seven – and herself – died.
Mark 12:24: “And Jesus answering said unto them; don’t you therefore err, because you don’t know the scriptures, neither the power of God?
For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.”
Misinterpreting marriage
Misunderstanding what marriage is, and the failure to know that it’s really intended for human earthly life and ministry, has led many astray from God’s original intention for marriage.
For this reason marriage has, through many generations, been a destructive pothole for many men and women. It has destroyed many strong ministries and callings as well as the lives of men and women who would have been a real blessing to many.
Marriages, in many instances, have been a reproach to the church and yet marriages were intended to be pillars in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ – the church.
According to Hebrews 13:4, marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
(Please not; there is only one bed in marriage). Many men and women, who would have been with strong ministries and callings to penetrate the territories of the enemy, have occasionally been let down by failure in marriage.
Others have resorted to ‘going it alone’ hoping it would be the way to fulfill their calling. However, the scriptures strongly warn us that unless born impotent, forced impotency or without unusual special grace for go-it-alone route, one can end in a disastrous situation.
