What is a Christian marriage?

What is a Christian marriage?

Marriage is a covenant of love which unites husband and wife to form a family unit. This covenant is sealed by God. Therefore, no one can break this covenant. Furthermore, they are no longer two, but one flesh. (Matt. 19:6). The relationship between husband and wife therefore is stronger than that between a father and his son or between a mother and her daughter. Therefore, even if one divorces one’s spouse, he/she is still remains his/her spouse until death. Furthermore, it does not matter how bad one's spouse is, he/she is still that person's spouse; just as irrespective of how bad one's son is he is still that person's son. Therefore, we have to love our spouse just as Christ loves His Church (Ephesians 5:25) and forgive one another without any limit (Matthew 18:21-22); just as God forgives us. Because of our sinfulness there are always going to be stressful situations in a marriage. However, Jesus who came to heal us gives us strength and graces to live a Christian marriage. Therefore, when we follow Jesus by denying our very self and taking up our cross (Matt 19:11) we will find hope where there is hopeless, love where there is hate, peace where there is discord, and see the face of God in the pain and suffering of our spouse.
 
Actually, biblically speaking, marriage is a human covenant that is broken either by death or by divorce. Of course, the divine ideal of marriage is that of a man and woman bound together in a monogomous faithful loving lasting interdependant social familial union. This is the "ideal" and the further we get from it the more problems our relationships, families, and cultures will have. But it shouldn't be understood as a "standard" with any other "lesser" type of relationship not being acceptable to God. For example, God not only recognized and blessed polygamous marriages, but God also inspired Moses to legislate the bill of divorce to mitigate the oppression of women freeing an expelled wife to legally marry another man and remain married and not rear her ex-husband reclaiming her.

Concerning the phrase "one flesh", it was an ancient near-eastern idiomatic phrase that simply meant family. If someone is of my flesh, he/she is part of my family. To become one flesh meant to be joined together as family, to take two individuals who were not family and make them family.
 
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