covenant marriage

I've run across the "covenant marriage" concept a few times and always thought it was a neat idea. So far only 3 states have it as an option.

The basic premise is that there should be legitimate barriers to divorce that ensure that divorce is only for legitimate reasons and only after every reasonable effort to save the marriage has been made.

The issue of divorce in the Bible is somewhat confusing to me. I think the attitude we had about it in the past was too black and white and mechanical. I think that most Christians today don't have a strong enough sense of the time and effort necessary to preserve and resurrect marriage in difficult circumstances. I think Jesus did not mean to create a new set of legalese to replace the old one. I think his intent was... "Marriage was always meant to be permanent, and everything possible should be done to preserve it, even if there are "legitimate" excuses for divorce. However, in this fallen world, sometimes it is necessary." I think that's his intent.

In my mind, Covenant Marriage is an attempt to reach for that ideal. Here is a link to more information... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_marriage