God’s Foundational Laws for Marriage
Genesis 2:24-25
For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother. Law of Priority
And shall cleave to his wife. Law of Pursuit
And they shall become one flesh. Law of Possession
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Law of Purity
To break only one of these laws can mean serious damage to the marriage relationship even if it does not lead to divorce. To violate two or more of these laws means certain doom to your hopes for happiness.
The Law of Priority
When God designed the marriage covenant, He did so with the intent that this special commitment between a man and a woman would be more important than any other human relationship. The passage in Genesis 2:2instructs us to leave (relinquish or loosen the bonds of) our parents when we marry, thus setting a standard for proper priorities. Many of the problems and failures in marriages today are the result of misplaced priorities.
In a marriage, both spouses have moral obligations to God and to each other to protect their relationship from being violated by people or things of lesser importance. We cannot allow our jobs, children, parents, friendships, recreation, or anything else to take a position of higher importance than our spouses.
If you or your spouse has been complaining lately about feeling violated by other things or other people invading your marriage, listen carefully to these warning signals. Make a commitment to reestablish and protect the proper priorities of your marriage.
The Law of Pursuit
When couples first begin to date, they typically work very hard at impressing each other. Careful planning goes into preparing for each date, behaving in a pleasing manner while together, saying the right things, and so on. As time passes and they reach a point of being comfortable, they tend to stop working at the relationship and begin taking it for granted.
Many marriages are in the same position today. The spouses no longer work at pleasing each other; instead, they take one another for granted and try to coast through a marriage void of romantic love.
When God instructed man to "cleave" unto his wife, He knew that the secret of staying in love is work. God's command in Genesis 2:24 is for a man to zealously pursue his wife and to energetically cling to her for the rest of his life. If you will make the decision to pursue your spouse with energy and diligence, you will quickly find it is a labor of love with satisfying results.
The Law of Possession
Marriage is a complete union in which all things previously owned and managed individually are now owned and managed jointly. Anything in marriage that is not willingly submitted to mutual ownership and control will lead to division and problems.
There are many couples who are divorced today simply because they did not observe this law of possession. They refused to surrender their money, time, family, children, careers, sports, education, future plans, or another aspect of their lives, causing damage to the trust and intimacy of their relationship.
Marriage is designed by God to be a place of deep intimacy and "oneness." For this to be possible, we must be completely surrendered to our mates and not hold anything back. The total sharing of our lives brings intimacy and fulfillment in marriage.
The Law of Purity
In the beginning of time, God intended marriage to be a place of total "nakedness," physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, without fear or shame. This is the condition Adam and Eve enjoyed in Genesis 2:25. They were completely exposed before God and before one another. In that condition, they shared themselves totally in an atmosphere of intimacy and openness. That is God's picture of a perfect marriage relationship.
God designed the nakedness of marriage to include every area of our lives. Physically, we are to enjoy our bodies together sexually with optimum pleasure and oneness. Mentally, we are to share our thoughts with one another without fear. Emotionally, we should be able to share our feelings without being rejected or embarrassed. And spiritually, we should be able to pray and worship together in the most beautiful and intimate way.
As you commit to create an atmosphere of purity for your home, seek God's forgiveness daily for your sins. Although none of us are perfect, we can be forgiven by the blood of Jesus. Purity in your relationship will allow love and intimacy to find their deepest and most beautiful expression.
Married Life
