Marriage is an institution sanctioned by God from the very beginning. Marriage is meant to be one woman and one man committed to each other for life, but many people's perception of marriage is not at all like that which is presented in the Bible.

    Couples often give up quickly when confronted with marital problems. Even before entering marriage many feel that if it does not work out, they will just divorce. According to the 1994 edition of The World Almanac and Book of Facts there were an estimated 2,362,000 marriages in 1992. Also that year there were 1,215,000 divorces granted.

     In Ephesians 5:31 Paul writes, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." The Greek word translated "joined" in this verse is proskollhq setai (proskollathasetai). This word is used four times in the New Testament (KJV). Twice it is translated "joined" (Acts 5:36; Ephesians 5:31), and twice "cleave" (Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7) Three of those occurrences refer to marriage. The first definition of this word in
the Greek lexicon is "to glue upon" or "glue to."

     To solidify your marriage and hold it together make sure that it is based upon the Lord and Christian principles. Determine from the very beginning that it is for life. A love of and obedience to God and His word, as well as an allegiance of love and devotion to each other, will provide the "glue" that will keep you and your spouse together for life.