Let Nothing Separate

June 24, 2025

When an eternal God creates something, it’s meant to last.

That’s why marriage—God’s design, not man’s invention—should never be viewed as temporary or disposable. From the beginning, God intended marriage to reflect the enduring, covenantal love Christ has for His Church (Eph. 5:25). Of all the metaphors God could have chosen to symbolize His love for His people, He chose marriage.

But today, marriage is often trivialized.

In a culture where commitment is conditional and love is seen as a fleeting feeling, many couples discard their vows the moment their spouse becomes inconvenient or difficult. “We fell out of love,” they say. But love isn’t something you fall into or out of—it’s a choice, a covenant, not a passing emotion.

Jesus never married, but He created marriage (Col. 1:16). That’s why we should pay close attention to what He said about it. In one of His most direct teachings on marriage, Jesus addressed a group of Pharisees who tried to trap Him with a question about divorce.

Jesus responded by pointing them back to God’s original design:

“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female… Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?”(Matt. 19:4–5)

Then came His definitive statement:

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matt. 19:6)

When the Pharisees pushed back, asking why Moses allowed for divorce, Jesus responded:

“Because of your hardness of heart… but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matt. 19:8)

Divorce was never God’s ideal.

It was permitted only because of the hardness of human hearts and to protect families from greater harm. In biblical times, a legal path to divorce kept men from abandoning, abusing, or collecting wives when they grew dissatisfied. But permitted never meant promoted.

Even when allowed—for adultery (Matt. 19:9) or abandonment by an unbelieving spouse (1 Cor. 7:15)—divorce was never commanded. God even told Hosea to buy back his adulterous wife to symbolize His relentless love for His people (Hos. 1:2; 3:1). Why should a marriage fight to survive even after deep betrayal? Because God loves with that kind of commitment—and He wants our marriages to reflect that same enduring love.

I don’t know the current state of your marriage.

I don’t know how committed you or your spouse are to making it work. But I do know this:

Jesus is for your marriage.

No expert or counselor can rival His power to restore what is broken or breathe life into what seems dead. Even if sin has shattered your trust, God’s grace is sufficient (James 4:6). No matter how impossible things seem, God is still able (Jer. 32:27). And if your marriage isn’t perfect—like all marriages—don’t wait to strengthen it.

If you’ve broken your vows, healing is possible, though it takes effort and time.
If your marriage is unsafe, get to a safe place without giving up on the person. Work on the relationship from a distance if needed. Whatever your circumstance, there is still hope for your marriage.

Different sins and struggles try to tear marriages apart.

In the chapters ahead, I’ll address some of these dangers head-on. Each issue will be presented clearly and biblically so you can be equipped to guard and grow your marriage.

I write not just as a husband, pastor, and counselor, but as someone who believes deeply in the truth of God’s Word. You don’t need decades of experience to learn how to love well—you need God’s wisdom. If experience were the only teacher, every marriage would fail before it succeeded. But God didn’t design marriage to deteriorate—He gave us Scripture to guide it.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable… so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

Marriage is one of those good works.

You can strengthen your marriage today through the power of God’s Word. He is strong enough to hold you together. The question is: Will you partner with Him?