Marriage and Family: The Spiritual Significance
Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension
Marriage and Family: The Spiritual Significance
socially adept and financially successful than children who grow up in alternative arrangements. There is definitely a strong social case to be made for traditional monogamous marriage between one man and one woman. Through the pages of this publication we will also see that there is an incontrovertible biblical case for traditional unions. Experience has shown time and again that these biblical guidelines for relationships and parenting are the ones that work best.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God . . .” (John 1:12).
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Are there any rules?
he hope for a happy, fulfilling marriage to the person we most deeply love is one of the most entrenched desires of men and women. Happily sharing our hopes, dreams, fortune and the breadth of life’s experiences in the most intimate way is one of the most fulfilling endeavors of all. A good marriage further blessed with happy, respectful, successful children who provide the same kind of grandchildren is the crowning touch of a good life. And what a life this is! What success! If possible, we’d all love to have this story be our story. This idealistic picture is a universal dream. Everyone wants the results. But not everyone wants to live the life that produces them. From the beginning
But before we get to these biblical instructions we must acknowledge that many people aren’t sure whether God really exists or whether His instructions are relevant today. Some believe that human beings came into existence by evolutionary forces, following blind natural selection and the survival of the fittest. This theory postulates that people are simply higher-level animals and that there are no spiritual laws to guide human conduct, no requirement that sexual relations be solely within marriage. Experimenting from this perspective, or because they simply didn’t want to follow the biblical instructions, men and women through the ages have tried many different sexual relationships including premarital sex, adultery, polygamy (one man with multiple wives), polyandry (one woman with multiple husbands), homosexuality and group marriages. Today premarital sex, adultery and homosexual relationships have all gained greater acceptance—challenging and undermining traditional marriage. The assumption among many, including governments and judges legislating acceptance of all views and people regardless of their practices and lifestyles, is that all choices are equal—so people can do whatever they want. Sadly, this approach is presumed to be morally superior to all others.
Experience has shown time and again that these sound, biblical guidelines for relationships and parenting are the ones that work best.
Were we designed for marriage and family?
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God revealed that marriage was a special union between a man and woman because, to put it bluntly, that was the way to have children. Sexual intercourse between a male and female united in marriage produced children within that family. Yet the benefits of traditional marriage extend beyond reproduction. Studies continue to show that men and women generally live longer and happier lives when they are married to someone of the opposite sex. In these traditional unions, children likewise generally grow up more
Yet with all the sexual experimentation, almost everyone wants the same good life, including children. It seems as though people were all psychologically wired to desire marriage and family. But why are we like this? Is it possible that we were designed this way from the beginning by a Creator? What would have happened to the human race had men and women not been created with a desire for sexual activity that would ensure procreation, a longing for intimacy both emotionally and physically with another person and a desire for offspring? Was it pure chance that things worked out this way? Are we simply lucky? For those who have eyes to see, these inborn traits are simply