Marriage Part Two: Pray for Christian Marriage and Those Men and Women Who Are Married

Psychologists say that human beings have a fundamental need for "stable primary bondings" with other people. Yet that merely confirms the Genesis account, in which God says simply, "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). It is to provide "a helper suitable for him" that God creates the woman. And the two becoming "one flesh" is in part a spiritual event reflecting the emotional bonding of the two. The woman is someone who, by being of the opposite sex, serves to complement the man, not merely mirror him. Marriage unites opposites, each of whom has what the other lacks, completing the other.

Marriage calls on couples to save themselves only for each other. To do so is essential, because even the most private sexual acts can have destructive public consequences outside of marriage (see 1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

To cite only the most obvious examples, sex outside of marriage results in the birth of children who are deprived of the benefits of growing up with both a mother and a father, while sex with multiple partners results in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Ironically, both of these problems have increased, not decreased, in recent years.

That reproduction of the human race is one of the central purposes of marriage is clear from God's mandate to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

For the human race to "be fruitful and increase in number," it was clearly necessary that man and woman come together in a procreative act, notwithstanding test tube babies adopted by famous homosexuals, it still takes sperm and egg (from a man and a woman) to create a baby. That is God's way.

Here are some steps that you can take personally to protect marriage:

•Work on the quality of your own marriage. Take time to be alone together and enjoy one another. Talk to your spouse openly and lovingly about any problems in your marriage. Seek counseling if you are having serious difficulties. Help others with their marriages by attending church and joining in couple fellowship activities, Sunday School and Youth Fellowship, supporting families in your church.

•Teach your children to honor marriage. Teach them to abstain from sexual relations before marriage. Be a good model for them of the proper relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, and mother and father.

 *Pray for marriage and all the married couples you know, especially the younger ones. Hold marriage of others in the highest honor. Pray for the couples and their children each day.