Through my time on this earth (which hasn't been very long), I've heard so many reasons as to why we should marry. Things such as- I love him, he has a good job, he treats me like a princess, and so on. But until I was actually engaged myself, I didn't understand WHY we SHOULD marry (if it is your calling)- not why we WANT to.
The most important reason- Marriage glorifies God!! As we all know in 1 Corinthians 13:4 (the love chapter), there is a beautiful description of what LOVE is. This is the love that God has for us. This love bears all things, keeps no records of wrong, is patient, and is UNCONDITIONAL. Yes, that word is the perfect word to describe God's love for us and since marriage is simply a reflection of Jesus and the church, as stated in Ephesians 5:23- "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior," we get to marry to show that we can ALSO love unconditionally as God loves us. Pretty cool, right!? It's almost as though it is a chance for us to show God that we WANT to love like Him. I encourage you to read this chapter of Ephesians to understand it better for yourself! Better yet, just Ephesians in general. It is a tough read, but there are so many resources out there to help you understand this book that Paul has written. Anyway, when we love unconditionally through our marriage, people notice. And when people notice this love, it can ONLY be explained through the grace of God. Therefore, God gets glory. He gets glory by us simply loving one another as he loves us UNCONDITIONALLY.
One of my favorite quotes on marriage is- Marriage is when two VERY imperfect people forge a life of faithfulness in the furnace of affliction by relying on Christ. -John Piper, The Momentary Marriage. Forge in this statement means to "shape by heating in a fire" or furnace as mentioned in the quote. So two people must shape their lives into one in this "furnace" and THAT can ONLY be done by RELYING on Christ. Marriage isn't a work that can be done on our own, but by having faith and by relying on Christ, it absolutely can be done and sealed!
I hope this gave clarification and I pray that you have a happy and blessed engagement, but remember to plan for your MARRIAGE as you are planning for your wedding. Your wedding will last a day while your marriage will last forever- please keep that in mind and may God bless you!!
Photo credit- Will Greene Photography
The most important reason- Marriage glorifies God!! As we all know in 1 Corinthians 13:4 (the love chapter), there is a beautiful description of what LOVE is. This is the love that God has for us. This love bears all things, keeps no records of wrong, is patient, and is UNCONDITIONAL. Yes, that word is the perfect word to describe God's love for us and since marriage is simply a reflection of Jesus and the church, as stated in Ephesians 5:23- "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior," we get to marry to show that we can ALSO love unconditionally as God loves us. Pretty cool, right!? It's almost as though it is a chance for us to show God that we WANT to love like Him. I encourage you to read this chapter of Ephesians to understand it better for yourself! Better yet, just Ephesians in general. It is a tough read, but there are so many resources out there to help you understand this book that Paul has written. Anyway, when we love unconditionally through our marriage, people notice. And when people notice this love, it can ONLY be explained through the grace of God. Therefore, God gets glory. He gets glory by us simply loving one another as he loves us UNCONDITIONALLY.
One of my favorite quotes on marriage is- Marriage is when two VERY imperfect people forge a life of faithfulness in the furnace of affliction by relying on Christ. -John Piper, The Momentary Marriage. Forge in this statement means to "shape by heating in a fire" or furnace as mentioned in the quote. So two people must shape their lives into one in this "furnace" and THAT can ONLY be done by RELYING on Christ. Marriage isn't a work that can be done on our own, but by having faith and by relying on Christ, it absolutely can be done and sealed!
I hope this gave clarification and I pray that you have a happy and blessed engagement, but remember to plan for your MARRIAGE as you are planning for your wedding. Your wedding will last a day while your marriage will last forever- please keep that in mind and may God bless you!!
Photo credit- Will Greene Photography