The Marriage Anniversary “Why is it so important?”

The Marriage Anniversary “Why is it so important?”

With 50% or more Marriages in the country ending in divorce, it would seem that not many get to celebrate an anniversary. Why do we celebrate anniversaries? Is there a biblical explanation as to why we should be reminded each year of the union that some of us share with another? I believe there is! God has intended that we as inhabitants of this earth are not to be alone. In the garden God, after realizing that Adam was lonely made him a help-mate her name was Eve. She was created to join Adam in a relationship that no one could separate. "What God has joined together, let man not separate" (Mark 10:9).

The Bible teaches that Christian marriage is an exclusive union. It is unmixed, pure. Husband and wife are no longer two, but one. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.” (Gen 2:24) Notice the word cleave. This word means to glue or attach with great force. Notice the words, one flesh. God’s intent was that no one else can be part of them the way they are part of each other.

In God's eyes, marriage is absolutely exclusive. Once you are married, your affections belong to your spouse. This leaves no room for sexual looseness, no room for playing games or even flirting with someone else's spouse. Why? Because it destroys everything marriage was meant to be.The Bible also teaches that marriage is a symbolic union, a beautiful metaphor of Christ and the church. Just as a husband and wife are one flesh, so Jesus Christ is one spirit with His church. As the church is to respond to Christ, so a woman is to respond to her husband. As Christ loved the church, so I am to love my wife. This symbolism elevates marriage to its highest dimension.Christian marriage is really a triangle: a man, a woman, and Christ. My Dw committed her life to Christ at the age of eight. I was 20 when I made the same decision. When we joined our lives, we did so in the presence of the Lord. He is the third party to our marriage. He is the one who keeps us together and draws us closer to each other as we seek to draw closer to Him. He will do the same for you.

So why is the marriage anniversary so important? It’s a reminder of all the things a marriage should be. It is a reminder of how God brought you together and how God will keep you together as long as God is the center of your life. It is a reminder of the great love that God has for you when he gave you your spouse. It is also a reminder of things that you can do to make the marriage stronger.

I remember the day that I said “I do” What was I agreeing to? I was making a covenant with God in the presence of witnesses that I will love my wife until the end. I will cherish her, honor her, and take care of her when she is sick. The Anniversary is a gentle reminder of those things and begs the question that we must ask ourselves. Am I doing all of those things that God wants me to do in my marriage?

Today is my wife and I 14th Wedding Anniversary! Wow, what a year! I look forward to the many more that are coming our way!

Ewj
Dec 21st, 2007