We’ve finally reached it – the end of the book. The last written chapter. If you’ve seen the movie, husband walks in on his wife, who is reading the book, The Love Dare. She asks him, “What chapter are you on?” He replies with a number in the sixties. She replies, “It only goes up to 40!?” Husband tells her that he just kept on going. That’s what I want to do in my marriage. I want to “keep on loving you…” (Sorry, I just slipped on Kevin Cronin and into REO Speedwagon. It happens.)
Sometimes we don’t realize it, but all we have here on earth are relationships. It’s the only thing we get to take with us when we die (and keep in Heaven). And the most important relationships a person can have is family and friends. How precious those are. How valuable. How much of a treasure? Oh my gosh, it’s invaluable. How easy (and sinister) it is to take these relationships for granted. And how easy it is to “coast” and not water, seed or invest in those all-important relationships.
I guess I better stop riffing and talk about the last chapter here, huh?
It starts talking about covenants. You know, a covenant is not a contract and a contract is not a covenant. They sound similar, but a contract is kind of written out of distrust, with clauses and termination dates and it states things that will happen if/when the contract is broken. A covenant is life-long. A covenant is strong. The book lists some of the covenants God has made with man (Noah, Abraham, Moses, David)…
And then there’s marriage – the strongest covenant on earth between two people, the pledge of a man and woman to establish a love that is unconditional and lasts a lifetime. In marriage, your wedding ring represents your covenant vows – not merely commitments you hoped to keep but premeditated promises, publicly spoken and witnessed by others.
As you’ve read numerous times in these pages, keeping this covenant is not something you can do in your own strength. There’s good reason why God was the One Who initiated covenants with His people. He alone is able to fulfill the demands of His own promises. He alone is able to forgive the receivers of His covenant when they fail to uphold their part of the agreement. But the Spirit of God is within you by virtue of your faith in His Son and the grace bestowed upon you in salvation. That means you now can exercise your role as covenant keeper, no matter what may arise to challenge your faithfulness to it.
Especially if your spouse is not in a place of receiving your love right now, the act of covenant keeping can grow more daunting with each passing day. But marriage is not a contract with escape clauses and exception wordings. Marriage is a covenant intended to cut off all avenues of retreat or withdrawal. There’s nothing in all the world that should sever what God has joined together. Your love is based on covenant.
Hundreds of years after the prophet Malachi recorded these words, people are still wondering why God withholds His hand of blessing at times from their homes and marriages. “You say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant … For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and him who covers his garment with wrong, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:14, 16).
Every marriage is called to be an earthly picture of God’s heavenly covenant with His church. It is to reveal to the world the glory and beauty of God’s unconditional love for us. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love.” (John 15:9). Let His words inspire you to be a channel of God’s love to your spouse.
The time is now, man or woman of God, to renew your covenant of love in all sincerity and surrender. Love is too holy a treasure to trade in for another, and too powerful a bond to be broken without dire consequences. Fasten your love afresh on this one the Lord has given you to cherish, prize, and honor.
Your life together is before you. Dare to take hold of it and never let go.
We dare you.
I like that God is there to help us. I like that this book states that we can’t do this on our own strength. We need God. God is available.
Today’s Love Dare:
Write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your home. Perhaps, if appropriate, you could make arrangements to formally renew your wedding vows before a minister and with family present. Make it a living testament to the value of marriage in God’s eyes and the high honor of being one with your mate.
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