Voices of Faith: Baptist Pastor says marriage equality good for ALL marriages.

From the WInston Salem Journal. Remember, North Carolina has a hate-amendment on the ballot.

How much more foundational is the year-to-year faithfulness embedded in the marriage covenant? Don't we stand amazed when couples voice their mutual promise to love and to cherish, regardless of circumstances, until parted by death? Such risk-taking astonishes. But more to the point, does not faithful promise-keeping in one relationship strengthen this capacity in us all?

Yes, some promises are broken. Our hopes can be dashed. Covenants crack and crumble. Forgiveness must come alongside promise-making in order for futures to be possible. But even when agreements are broken, no one questions the essential value of faithful promises, both large and small. Promises made and promises kept are the glue that holds life together.

Same-sex couples within their covenants share the same hope that I have with my wife. They, too, make promises to love and cherish until parted by death. In no way do they threaten the rest of us who enjoy the legal rights of marriage. Rather, they strengthen our capacity for lasting commitment. Their courage, in the face of rejection, emboldens our courage. Their persistence, in the face of opposition, fortifies our stamina. And their yearning for covenants blessed and legalized is an invitation to join them in this struggle for fairness. They are for marriage, not against it. They help us all hold high the bar of covenant love.