To Have And To Hold

To have and to hold, from this day forward,
For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,
In sickness or in health, to love and to cherish....forever

I've been thinking of the wedding vows. What is a vow?

Vow
1. a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment: marriage vows; a vow of secrecy.
2. a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself
to an act, service, or condition.
3. a solemn or earnest declaration.

There is a wedding every day and, at those weddings, people make a vow to one another. They vow to stand by one another, to love one another, to cherish one another, to respect one another...etc. etc. It's quite a promise.

So many marriages fail, so many couples give up, too may lives torn apart, hearts broken, promises broken.... Looking at the divorce rate, it's hard not to ask, "Why did they even bother vowing? Promising their love?"

In many if not most marriages, the vows end with "'til death do us part." Meaning, the promise they have made to be with one another, loving, serving, etc. will continue and not end until death separates them. Though the Bible says clearly that you are bound to your spouse until death, and are then free to marry another if you chose (though it is better to stay single), I just don't find that appealing. Personally, I like what my parents did. They vowed, not "til death" but "for forever." Marriage is for life. To have and to hold. I cannot imagine saving everything for my "one and only" only to give it to another if he dies. No...marriage is for keeps.

On April 17, 2010 when I stand before Grant, I'm going to make a vow - before God, him, my family, my friends, and all the onlookers - to have him and to hold him, from that day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness, and in health, to love him and to cherish him...forever. It's a covenant. Just like the covenant God made with us, marriage is a picture of forever. Christ came and offered us promises... to never leave us or forsake us, to uphold us with His hand, to serve, to "loveth more than a brother," to build a place for us, to receive us, and to be with us forever. Heavy promises, but it was a vow Christ made that was kept.

...so marriage should be.

Hosea 2:19-20 -
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.

Matthew 19:6
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.