The Covenant: Transforming the Heart of Your Marriage by Vance K. JacksonSample

The Garden: Where It All Started.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 KJV

Let’s go back to the beginning, where it all started, in Genesis and the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:8 KJV declares, “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” 

Notice, in this verse, that God created the Garden of Eden first, and then He placed man to steward over everything in it. Man did not create the Garden—God created the Garden. Man did not plant the Garden—God planted the Garden. God created the Garden and everything that was in it.

The Garden of Eden was perfect. The Garden was planted by God and was given to man, by God, to steward, cover, and protect every aspect of it. The Garden of Eden was man’s God-given assignment. The Garden was man’s platform. God prepared the platform. God prepares platforms and assigns people where it pleases Him.

God plants and prepares gardens. Your marital covenant is a God-prepared Garden. The borders of your Garden belong to God and He assigned you to steward it well. 

Your marriage was created by God. Marriage is more than a carnal platform. Marriage is more than a man-made contract or institution. Marriage is a God-ordained Covenant between God, man, and woman.

The institution of marriage was created by God Himself. Genesis 2:18 KJV declares, “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” 

God created your spouse, and through the covenant of marriage, it is your responsibility to love your spouse as God leads your heart. Choose to love your spouse. Choose to reflect the Heart and Character of God in the confines of your marriage.