Threefold Cord Relationship

A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4:12b NAS)

Rope making has been around for a long time, and there are many different ways of making it. Depending on how a rope is made will determine the different characteristics that can be introduced to the finished rope.

One of the most common ropes used today is the laid or twisted rope. According to various sources of information from the web, a laid rope has a preferred direction for coiling. A right-laid rope is coiled clockwise to prevent kinking. This type of rope needs to be bound at its ends to prevent untwisting.

Laid rope of three strands is usually preferred because of its proven strength to carry a load or lash a structure. Such a rope is made by twisting three strands of fiber in one direction and then laying the strands together by allowing the strands to twist together in the opposite direction. Fibers are first gathered and spun into yarns, and a number of these yarns are then formed into strands by twisting. Each of these strands are twisted tightly and joined to make the twist coil the rope. This counter-twisting is what holds the finished rope together to make it a stable and unified object.

A marriage relationship is like the making of a three strand rope. Depending on how much we are willing to let the Lord guide us as a couple and in our family life will determine how our marriage relationship turns out. Unless we have Christ to hold fast our relationship like a threefold cord with strands bound together, a marriage or family can quickly be torn apart (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Just as a laid rope has a preferred direction for coiling, even when two have become one flesh in marriage, each can still have differing opinions and preference, and these can lead to both going different directions.

I have been married for more than twenty years, and I have seen marriages that last till the end and those that did not last. I know and understand how hard it is for couples with differing opinions and preference to stay together, and I know what it means to tolerate one another. I thank God my wife and I are still growing in love after all these years because Christ is the center of our lives. Without Christ, I can never be sure how our marriage relationship would be today, for we differ much in thoughts and character. I know for sure, however, that without the Lord things would not have been the same.

A lasting marriage is one that has Christ as the center. Even in a strained relationship where a husband and wife go opposite directions in opinions or preference, with Christ as Lord, they can stay strong to carry any load together and move ahead in one direction. Like fibers that are spun into yarns to make the twist coil the rope, if we like branches hold fast to the Vine and abide in Christ, we can be assured our relationship will bear much fruit (John 15:5). Just as a finished rope of three strands cannot be held together without counter-twisting, and branches can do nothing without the Vine, so it is with a marriage relationship.

Let us hold fast therefore to the One who is able to keep us and our family together (Joshua 23:8; Jude 24). For in Christ alone can we build a family that is stable and unified, with relationships that last and are not quickly torn apart. With one heart, let us as a family agree with one another even if we differ in opinions or preference to affirm as Joshua did, “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

Dear Lord, thank You for holding fast our marriage relationship. We know Lord that as a family our relationship hinges on putting You first in our lives. You O Lord are the Vine and we are the branches. Without You, we can do nothing. Guide us therefore Lord in our building of a relationship that lasts. Help us not go opposite directions over differing opinions or preference, but to willingly give in to or agree with the other in love. You are the center of our lives Lord and in You alone we are assured our relationship will bear much fruit till the end.