The Christmas Cord

for sw happy anniversary

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 

Ecclesiastes 4:12

 

Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 

Matthew 19:4-6

From a cultural perspective, Mary and Joseph’s marriage was doomed.

Christmas came square into the middle of a society that weighed life on the scales of honor and shame. Every decision and every behavior was measured against the backdrop of the group to which one belonged: family, community, nation, and tribe.

Will my choice or behavior bring shame to my group?

The question was always foremost in their minds.

Joseph’s betrothal to Mary was an honor-building choice. However when Mary, a virgin from an honorable family, promised to a carpenter from an honorable family, became pregnant, the scales crashed down on the side of shame and threatened to destroy not just the young woman and man, but their families, community, tribe, and nation.

The shameful cultural position Mary and Joseph found themselves in cannot be overemphasized.

Yet, there was a third cord, a binding, strengthening, defending, and protecting element of their story that often remains hidden.

As the reality of their situation bore down on Joseph, God intervened. He came to Joseph in a dream and showed him what culture and worldview could not see. This seemingly shameful situation was in fact the greatest honor any man and woman had ever known. Joseph chose to believe Truth counter to his culture, and he remained with Mary.

God does not abandon couples who choose Truth that culture and worldview cannot see.

From the time of His immaculate conception, Jesus was binding marriages together. The third cord, God Himself, who joins together one man and one woman to become one flesh, held them fast.

Mary and Joseph’s marriage was not demolished by shame, and neither were their families, their tribe, or their nation. Instead, shame was demolished. The honor of humanity was permanently restored by the very circumstance, the very person the culture expected to cause the couple’s undoing.

A man and woman united can be quite strong. They can overcome much. They can have a love so fierce, so fabled, so phenomenal, that it causes the world around them to admire and envy. They can build lives, houses, businesses, and legacies. Two can defend themselves. But life is hard and unpredictable. Terror in the night can destroy the strongest union of two. Sin can destroy hope and the morning rises dark.

Take courage, dear wives and husbands. There is a Third Cord, and His name is Jesus. 

The Christmas Cord binds one man and one woman together, holding them fast. And a cord of three strands is not easily broken. #marriage Share on X

Long ago on the coast of North Africa, I talked with a rope maker. His face was wrinkled and wisened from decades in the sun. His eyes twinkled as he showed me an array of handmade ropes. Some were bright and new, freshly woven; others were old and weathered. He proudly demonstrated how he could take an old rope, unwind the rotting cord, and replace it with a strong new one. The old fisherman did not know about the Third Cord of Ecclesiastes 4:12, but all of his ropes were plaited with three strands. I have never forgotten our conversation and the vivid blue ropes that reminded me of Truth.

Whether your marriage is new or old, it can be strengthened by the Christmas Cord. Jesus is the Third Cord that holds couples together during the greatest strain and storm, and with Him, you will not easily be broken. 

Lord, weave my marriage with Your third cord this Christmas. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Photo by Alberto Gasco on Unsplash