Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Covalent Bonds
Heb 13:1-6
Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers (Heb 13:4).
 
Marital relationships, where the two become one (Mark 2:8-9), requires a balance, like a covalent bond. Otherwise the attractive and repulsive forces which are part of the marital relationship may destroy it. Let us glean a few instructions for marriage from today's portion.
1. Core Christianity (v.1-3). Love is at the core of Christian faith, and the concluding exhortations begin with it. Hospitality (v.2) is an overflow of a heart filled with love (Remember Jesus making breakfast - John 21:10-13). V.2 recalls Abraham's hospitality to strangers (Genesis 18), who turned out to be angels. V. 3, talks about visiting prisoners. It was written at a time when Christians were imprisoned for their faith and persecuted. May our lives within the marital bond and beyond be ever hospitable.
2. Keeping the covenant (v.4). V.4 holds both partners equally responsible in honoring the marital covenant. Written in an age and culture normalized extra-marital, pre-marital sexual activity, which was sometimes sanctioned by some Graeco-Roman philosophies, the Christian faith stood for faithfulness between partners. The consequence of judgment is brought to consciousness by the writer. May our marital bonds strive to hold on to the holy covenant and its terms.
3. Contentment over enchantment (v.5). Chuck Palahniuk in his famous novel Fight Club asserts, "The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." Contentment must be prized over the enchantment by money a teaching echoed in the Bible (Pro 19:23; 23:4-5; Eccl 5:10, etc.).
4. Confidence in Christ ( v.5-6). Two encouraging quotes from the Old Testament urge Christians to base our relationship on a trust founded in the Lord : v.5 from Joshua 1:5 and Deut 31:6,8 and v. 6 from Psalm 118:6.
PRAYER
Lord, help us to hold on to the core principles of Christian marriage so that we experience your divine love enough to share it with others, Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The bond of marriage is made strong by the presence of God in the marriage.
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church

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