Love, Marriage, and God's Perfect Blueprint

On Valentine's Day, we concentrate on strengthening our relationships, and on living in the love of Jesus Christ.  Here is what 1st John chapter 4 has to say:
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.

We talk about love, we hear about it, but it's important to recognize how the love of God is expressed - there is an element of selflessness and sacrifice, regarding another person's needs as higher than our own.  Being sensitive to the needs of others so that the love of Christ can flow from us to them.   Walking in God's love gives us the satisfaction of knowing that we are pleasing Him and building others up.   We have the capacity to love because He first loved us...on this Valentine's Day, we can reflect on the enormous blessing of extending His love toward someone else.

Ephesians chapter 5 quotes from the book of Genesis in its presentation of Biblical marriage as representative of Christ and His church:
31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."  32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.


On Valentine's Day, attention is focused on the people whom we love - and it gives us a chance to reflect on the state of our relationships and how healthy relationships contribute to a more stable, healthy society - in a variety of ways.

And, when we look at relationships, obviously, to the Christian, our relationship with Christ is the central focus, the foundation of how we relate to others.    And, in Genesis 2:24, we see what could be described as a gold standard of earthly relationships - marriage: clearly defined as one man for one woman.

And, on this Valentine's Day, young people - of all ages - are being called to purity; waiting until marriage to experience God's gift of intimacy.  Liberty Counsel is sponsoring its 10th "Day of Purity".   Director Amber Haskew says, “While progressives seek to distort the differences between men and women, publically fund contraceptives and abortion, and elevate personal rights over marital responsibilities, Liberty Counsel and thousands of people around the world will recognize February 14, the Day of Purity, as a time to return to God’s plan for intimacy and oneness."

Traditional, Biblical marriage benefits the participants in a number of ways - spiritually and emotionally, for sure, but also in the realm of physical health, as Andrew Hess and Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family point out.  They say that the current body of research consistently finds married men and women are:

• More likely to live longer
• More likely to be physically healthier
• More likely to be mentally healthier
• More likely to be happier
• Recover from illness quicker and more successfully
• Generally, take better care of themselves and avoid risky behavior.

And, we honor those who are single on this day, who have a tremendous opportunity for spiritual growth as they follow God's blueprint for their lives and wait on His perfect timing for marriage.

Sociological research shows that strong marriages impact society - this reinforces the notion that God's way is best, not only for individuals and families who follow Christ, but for the culture at large.   From the website www.familyscholars.org, you can find a .pdf of 30 conclusions from the social sciences on "Why Marriage Matters".   Just to name a few here:

• Marriage increases the likelihood that fathers and mothers have good relationships with their children.
• Divorce and unmarried childbearing increase poverty for both children and mothers, and cohabitation is less likely to alleviate poverty than is marriage
• Married couple seem to build more wealth on average than singles or cohabiting couples
• Children whose parents divorce have higher rates of psychological distress and mental illness
• Boys raised in non-intact families are more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behavior
• Marriage appears to reduce the risk that adults will be either perpetrators or victims of crime.

You get the picture...marriage has enormous positive social consequences, and it is in government's best interest to protect and uphold traditional marriage.  Needless to say, cohabitation, which is celebrated in some sectors of our culture, is not the functional equivalent of marriage.   And, Biblically or biologically, you cannot consider same-sex marriage as true "marriage"!   

As Christians, we strongly stand for the preservation of marriage, and stand with our young people as they resist compromising their purity, with singles as they pursue God's best and seek a mate in His perfect timing, and with married couples as they protect their marriages against the forces that would pull them apart.