Love is a Covenant

Rebekah

On our wedding day, I stood hand in hand with Donald and committed to try my best… and we tolerated each other ever after.

The truth is my best is never going to be good enough or have any real impact on our marriage and the eternal fruit that could come of it.

In reality I stood hand in hand with Donald on our wedding day, and there was no question in my mind about whether our marriage would truly last. I wasn’t worried because I knew marriage was not something we were trying on for size, I was very aware we were making a covenant not only with each other but before God. I imagine making a covenant sounds incredibly daunting, and it’s certainly not something I ever want to take lightly, but I truly believe building your marriage on the foundation of a covenant is an opportunity to invest in something eternal. Building our relationship on a covenant means that there is no thought or threat of divorce, and our arguments take us somewhere, they lead us to repentance to God and each other and we grow and learn to love each other more and more. It also means to me that our wedding day was only the beginning, not the peak of our love for each other, but the first taste of the life God has purposed us to live together…

Donald

What does that mean? The chapter does a good job of explaining the deeper meaning of the word. I made a covenant with Rebekah the day we got married. It wasn’t a covenant taken lightly or second guessed. I knew that I wanted to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her, no matter what. Sure there are days when its tougher than others, but never in my vows was their an escape clause or a exit strategy. Could you see that on a wedding program, a footnote that reads “all vows are null and void if either party isn’t satisfied in the duration of their marriage and can exit at any point that they see fit”.

Marriage isn’t easy, its a covenant not a contract. Both of us are humans, we are sinful natured and selfish this covenant is a selfless act of love. It goes against our selfish nature, so there must be a continual renewal of that covenant, much like our relationship with Christ. This covenant I took with Rebekah is a journey of growing and learning. The ultimate joy in my life is finding out God’s destiny for our lives together.

-Donald and Rebekah Desloge