Honoring Marriage
I just want to set something straight. Marriage is something that is really awesome and honored by God, therefore it is something I seek to honor. Before you continue please read The Cost of Delaying Marriage and Defending the Cost of Delaying Marriage.
Saying that I honor marriage is strange for 3 reasons:
1) That I would need to make such a statement. It’s amazing how our culture has shifted in the current times to place such an emphasis on things of the self rather than others. This polemic is only contradicted in the cases of widespread disaster and in rare individuals (hopefully those that are so gripped by love for God that they could not help but love others).
2) Many of you that are reading this already agree this statement, and in fact I know that there a few of you married ones lurking about :D
3) I am single.
I thought about expanding on that last point, but I guess it’s fairly obvious. But this post has been a long time coming. I bought a ticket for the hype machine that sold me career before companionship, which lead me straight to desiring to wait until I was around 40 until marriage. This compounded with selfishness and pride lead me to the conclusion about 2 years ago that marriage was a rotten thing that should be avoided at all costs.
Thankfully, that is not how God left me. He brought so many people into my life to show me what marriage is and isn’t. He reminded me of all of the scripture that affirms such a relationship (Matthew 19:4-6, Genesis 2:18, Song of Solomon, Ephesians 5:22-28). He showed me that our relationship with Him is modeled in the marriage covenant. Oh, how great and glorious the mysteries of God are.
So, where does that leave me today? To be honest, I’m not really sure. What I do know is that this is incredibly freeing to write. I’ve met so many single girls who are afraid of saying that they actually want more than companionship, but they would much rather have a covenant. That life is more than desiring a passing feeling or someone to go to the movies together with, but a commitment that centers on Christ. We are told in the church so many different things, from pray your way to a mate to go out and find a date, that it’s easy to get confused.
As all things, It is not about us, but rather about the one who created us. How did Adam and Eve meet? God provided, Adam proclaimed, and Eve trusted (Genesis 2:20-25). What a beautiful model. Just like all good things, they come from the Father of heavenly lights (James 1:17). In all this talk about marriage let’s remember one thing, that if it’s truly good it’s from God. Let’s praise God for his great mercy and blessings that pour out upon us abundantly.
September 23rd, 2005 at 11:52 am
Two really great articles - thanks for the links. Clearly, I look at the issue through different eyes, but this particularly struck me:
September 23rd, 2005 at 1:24 pm
I completely agree with that quote. It’s nice to see a guy echoing that statement :D