What is going on with Marriages today?

Mike here….

So what is going on with marriages all around us?

All around me marriages are in trouble much like the current housing situation. So many marriages are in various stages of distress, pre foreclosure, or have already been abandoned and left for someone to pick up the pieces.

So, I find myself asking the question , “What is going on with Marriages today?”

While certainly we could look at the earthly pressures and reality of the American society and culture on marriage I first want to look to scripture for some answers.

Marriage is the analogy Christ uses to explain His second coming and our re-union with our Heavenly Father.

Revelation 19 (New American Standard Bible)

Marriage of the Lamb

7"Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."

8It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb '" And he said to me, "These are true words of God."

10Then I fell at his feet to worship him But he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

So, how does this question fit into the possibility that we are living in the end times?

Let’s look at the “Apostasy”…

1 Timothy 4 (New American Standard Bible)

Apostasy

1But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,

2by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

3men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.

4For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;

5for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

While we see that during the apostasy men will forbid marriage I believe the first two versus are even more telling of the spiritual battle that will/is taking place and one of the direct casualties is marriage.

For me personally I’m watching all types of deceitful spirits and pressures pull on marriages. Unfortunately, we don’t often learn of all the challenges until a marriage is so damaged that one or both parties are no longer interested in fighting to repair the relationship.

So, what do we do? Well first and foremost we must hold on to the teachings of the entire Word of God. As believers strive to be Christ like, healthy relationships and marriages will result. I believe first and foremost that selfishness is at the core of all of our sin. It is not hard to see how selfish behavior pulls at the fabric of relationships and marriage either.

I encourage believers to press on to the goal. Continue to read your Bible but also be on guard for deceitful spirits placing selfish ideas and motivations in front of you to pursue.

Our marital commitments are very important to God.

Hebrews 13:4 (New American Standard Bible)

Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Let me be clear, our marriages are often the first battle field in this Spiritual Battle that is only getting more and more intense.

Hold fast and stay dedicated to one another in prayer.

Mike