Marriage is a convenant

In the race of life, the family union is the most important segment of man’s existence but many a times people misunderstood the real meaning of marriage which can only be borne out of genuine love. A lot of people see marriage as a contract; some sees it as a boy and a girl abstractly head over heels and of no genuine intention living together. In most cases, some just for the status quo Mr. & Mrs. – just to get by. But unfortunately marriage is not living together just to get by and neither is it a contract but a covenant.
Yes, you say, Sharon, what is a covenant? A covenant is two people taking an oath, it is more than a promise and it should not be broken. Covenants are usually written in nature with a sealing sign, and it is for life. That is why every time God enacts a covenant with a man there is always a sign to back it up. In Genesis 9:13 God enacted a covenant with Noah and sealed it with the sign of the rainbow.
In Genesis 17:10-11, he enacted a covenant with Abraham and sealed it with circumcision. The marriage covenant also has a written document as it were, which is the marriage certificate and the ring or the bible as the sealing sign.
A covenant can also have blood backing as its sealing sign. Noah shed the blood of animals, Abraham shed the blood of the foreskin of his son, which is called circumcision, and for the new covenant God shed the blood of his only begotten son Jesus.
Now after the marriage ceremony which is usually celebrated upon a lavished praise the new bride and bridegroom enters into their closet and sleeps together, the virginity of the bride is broken and the blood comes out as the final sealing of the marriage covenant. And they become a united family, a union of two forgivers, where you have the husband as the head and the wife as the neck, because without the neck the head will fall
Hear me out Mr. Husband and Mrs. Wife, marriage is good because our God is a good God and where it’s not good it’s not God. God can’t create anything bad. Marriage is to be enjoyed and not endured don’t make a mockery of it.
For marriage to work out both partners must have the right attitude. God’s purpose for instituting marriage is for
? Helpmeet: - Genesis 2:18
? For spiritual reinforcement: - Deuteronomy 32:30
? For companionship: - Malachi 2:14
? For Unity: - Amos 3:3
? And above all, for fruitfulness and multiplication

Marriage is leaving and cleaving. Leaving is to gain parental independence and cleaving is husband and wife coming together as one – one body, one spirit, one soul. Marriage is a one-flesh thing, one flesh means the husband and the wife treating each other’s the same way you would treat yourself, no division, no selfishness.
Sex must not be used as a weapon of war. Most women are guilty of this, Sister, sex is not a weapon of war but of love and oneness and it is for two to enjoy not for three people.
Respect must be observed in marriage with each partner respecting each other’s view. A sister told me, Pastor Sharon my marriage is not exciting. There are so many ways to make your marriage exciting and enjoyable.
1. Love: - Ephesians 5:25, Romans 13:10, 1 John 4:18. Love is a major prerequisite for making your marriage work. You can’t manage love. It got to be love. You can’t love somebody out of pity. It just has to be love. Love is not optional but mandatory. It must be unconditional, it is a commandment from the Lord, you cannot change it, you can only adapt it.
2. Submission: - Is another important requirement in this college. Ephesians 5: 21-24, 1 Peter 3:1. A woman must submit to her husband unconditionally and in every thing. Submitting to your husband does not make you a lesser being but an honourable woman who is obeying God and walking in the order of our mother Sarah whoso honour her husband Abraham that she called him Lord.
3. Communication: - is another important requirement. Lack of communication has destroyed many marriages. Communication must be two sided and it is not just talking, it must involve listening as well as talking. And I think this is where I find Hayes my beautiful husband very interesting.
4. Prayers: - A good marriage is built on a solid rock of prayers. Husband and wife should learn the habit of praying together, and children are so sensitive, they follow the prayer identity of their parents. Pray about everything and don’t grieve the Holy Spirit with wrong attitude and emotions. Allow the Spirit of God to flow in your home. The bible says the family that prays together stays together.
5. Clean Environment: - Is an unconditional requirement for making your marriage exciting. This was one big difference between Hayes and I, my dear husband. He is the “make everywhere clean guy” and I was the “throw it everywhere girl” and I discover he didn’t like that, I’ve had to double up and rank with him at that level of cleanliness and it has been exciting. Clean environment enhances romance and romance makes marriage hot and fresh. I discovered that it is very good for a woman to develop her inner beauty according to 1 Peter 3:3-4 but I discovered that it is also good to develop her physical body. Keep your environment clean, keep yourself clean. Clean up baby. Marriage can be a paradise if we follow God’s recipe for marriage