I read a very thought provoking article over at AlbertMohler.com about marriage. In it, he is reviewing a book entitled Forbidden Fruit; Sex and Religion in the lives of American Teenagers, by Mark Regnerus. This particular paragraph really struck me.
"As he (Mark Regnerus) observes, “The importance of Christian marriage as a symbol of God’s covenantal faithfulness to his people — and a witness to the future union of Christ and his bride — will only grow in significance as the wider Western culture diminishes both the meaning and actual practice of marriage. Marriage itself will become a witness to the gospel.”
Yet, marriage has always been a witness to the gospel, even as it existed in anticipation of the gospel. From the very beginning of the Christian church, marriage has been an important dimension of our witness to Christ and to the covenant of our salvation. In so many beautiful ways, marriage points to the very character of God."
I was also moved by his concluding arguments:
"Mark Regnerus certainly drives the point home when he argues that “when people wait until their mid-to-late 20s to marry, it is unreasonable to expect them to refrain from sex.” Nevertheless, Christians are called to a moral standard that, by any secular standard, is profoundly unreasonable. I would prefer to argue that the delay of marriage is unwise, not only because of the demonstrated risk of sexual immorality, but because of the loss of so much God gives to us in marriage."
What are your thoughts? I'd be interested to hear some opinions on this subject.
I am inclined to agree though it's a scary prospect when I consider my children marrying early. Supposedly there is a higher rate of divorce among those who marry early. It has worked well for us though - DH was 20 (turned 21 later that month) and I was 23.
ReplyDeleteI recently heard a fabulous teacher on this exactly. I am also inclined to agree. I think if a person knows who they are, and know who they want to marry... if they are a believer... it will be harder and harder and harder for them to abstain from what our bodies naturally want to do. I'm going to the library to grab this book! It might not be the "cultural norm" anymore, but I tend to think our divorce rate is higher as a result of all the promiscuity.
ReplyDeletewow. i am going to grab this book too. i somewhat agree. i think that...however some ppl might use this as an excuse to have sex prior to marriage or to justify many partners.
ReplyDeletei do think that asking people to wait until they are in their mid-late twenties to abstain is a hard and seemingly impossible task.
i however i knew i was not ready to be married until that time....so personally i could not imagine getting married at an earlier age