He Loves Me....He Loves Me Not?

I'll keep it simple. No matter where you are in life, no matter what you have or don't have, no matter what you do or don't do, no matter who you are or who you're not- God loves you!  In a powerful message from our pastor yesterday, I was reminded once again that nothing can separate you or myself from the Love of God. I've always wondered why marriage is one of those institutions that God holds so dearly. I ponder how when God came robed in flesh, He basically loosed us from so many OT rituals by fulfilling the Law.  However, marriage is one institution  that he continued to uphold. He even took it a step further.  In the OT, he allowed for divorce because of the hardness of man's heart.  A man could divorce his wife or put her away for some pretty silly reasons.  However, in the NT, we see that the only way He allowed for divorce was for the reason of unfaithfulness or infidelity.  He definitely tightened the reins on that one. Why is marriage such a big deal?  I've thought about this long and hard and I can only come to one conclusion.  I think that marriage is held in such high regard by God because he uses it as a model of our relationship with Him (personally and the Church's relationship with Him).  Even though we fail him and mess up so many times and give him so many reasons for Him to leave us, He never does and He never will. He promised that no matter what, He would always stick by our side.  He sees the worst in us and still loves us with tons of compassion.  When we fall at His feet crying out to him in repentance, his forgiveness is quick to meet us. What a love!   So remember when you are tripping tomorrow or when you fall short (we always will)- He still LOVES you!