One man and one woman for life is the biblical precedence set in the scriptures. In the beginning God put Adam to sleep and took one of his ribs and brought forth the woman. When Adam saw her he said these words, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (Gen. 2.23). Marriage is the first institution God made and it should be respected, honored and cherished as He does. God loves marriage and the Hebrews writer said these words, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled…” (Mal. 2.11; Heb. 13.4). With these few comments made, we should all do our part to make our marriages as permanentas possible and make sure no outside intruders cause them to be destroyed.

How can we promote longevity in our marriages? Keeping yourself individually in the love of God and looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life are the primary steps in a long, spiritual and happy marriage (Jude 21). This keeps us focused upon God and His Son, which is vital to being in any relationship, especially marriage. As husband and wife, another way to promote longevity in marriage is to be intentional together in spiritual things and events. For this reason it is important to have genuine love and respect for one another and do all you can to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3.18). Love, respect and honesty goes a mighty long way in holding a godly marriage together.

Keeping the fire lit in the marriage helps the relationship to flourish and be what God would have it to be. Just as Jacob saw Rachel, kissed her and lifted up his voice and cried, we should be willing to guard ourselves with “familiarity” and keep the marriage   fresh   and   beautiful   (Gen. 29.9-20). Being spontaneous and open to playful activities will go a long way in our lifelong relationships together. Remember when Isaac was sporting Rebekah and king Abimelech saw them (Gen. 26.8)? This is what keeps a marriage alive and thriving as well and must be considered and applied to our marriages from time to time. Let us be careful to have time for one another, lest the tempter enters in and spoils the marriage through deception and confusion.

Communication is vital to our marriages as well. We must talk and it must be effective communication. Talk about the things which encourage us and also the things which bother us and cause us to pull away from one another and the Lord at times. Peter told the church to dwell with their wives according to knowledge and we should take this to heart today (1 Pet. 3.7). We must talk about what pleases us physically, emotionally, spiritually and intimately. Some marriages are devoid of effective communication and it is seen in the family: the way they talk to one another and many times the way they are not talking to one another. It is true, either you are talking to your spouse or the devil as is seen in the Garden of Eden (2 Cor. 11.3).

Just as the Godhead has roles, the husband and wife have roles to fulfill as well. Those roles must be carried out with respect and honor as seen in Ephesians 5.21-33. The husband is divinely tasked with being the head of the wife and she is divinely tasked with respecting her husband by submitting to him. When the roles are respected and honored, then love, protection and care is demonstrated in the marriage and the result of that is a long fruitful marriage. Everyone remaining in their role shows the beauty of marriage, demonstrating the love of Christ and for one another. God knows how to build the house; let us do our part in allowing Him to build it from the husband and wife down (Ps. 127.1).

Finally, Jesus taught there was no marriage in heaven and therefore we can conclude this beautiful institution is for humans and only for this time frame (Matt. 22.30). With this said, let’s honor the Lord through faithfulness in marriage and let every man have his own wife and every wife have her own husband (1 Cor. 7.1-5). When this is respected and honored, then the idea of “death doing us part” rings loud and true for everyone who enters into this covenant relationship. Let’s not fall asleep on the job in our marriages and keep in mind the exhortations from the scriptures to have marriages of honor and honesty. Let’s not fall in the traps of Annaias and Saphirra, who came together to lie to God (Acts 5.1ff). But rather, let us strive to be like Aquila and Priscilla and work hard on ourselves and for the kingdom of God and Christ (Acts 18.1ff). Longevity in marriage should be the aim for our marriages in helping one another hear, “Well done” (Matt. 25.23).