What's Going on with Marriage?

As much as possible, I try not to write about things that bother me on here. I have this philosophy because I want this blog to be something that is encouraging to all believers and something that [hopefully] will be able to help you throughout your life's journey with the Lord Jesus. This being said, I have something that at first is not going to be very encouraging, in fact, it's going to be really sad, but that Lord willing will be able to end on a more positive note.

According to Divorce Statistics, 45-50% of first marriages in the United States of America end in divorce. I know that we all know this, but that doesn't make it any less terrible. In fact, it gets worse. 60-67% of second marriages end in divorce and 70-73% of third marriages don't work out! Not to mention, 40% of couples with children divorce, while 66% of those without kids also end in divorce. In the year 2010 alone, 872000 of people living in the USA were either divorced or had their marriages annulled. In fact, 10% of the entire US population is divorced.

This is wrong and needs to change.

According to Scripture, marriage is for six different things. Now, I wouldn't limit marriage to only six different uses, but based on what I've seen in Scripture, this is a biblical picture of marriage:

1. Marriage, first and foremost, was created for Procreation. In Genesis 1:28, God blesses Adam and Eve's marriage and tells them to multiply and fill the Earth, to rule over all that is in it. Marriage is how children are supposed to come into the world! Children who grow up in broken homes or homes with one parent or two of the same sex don't get the same kind of structure and biblical outlook on what marriage is supposed to be! This is why this is the first thing the Lord tells the couple after they are married, so they can share with the world what marriage is to be like and so that they can fill it.
2. Marriage is for Pleasure. Marriage is supposed to be fun! If something like sex, within the context of marriage, wasn't something that was pleasurable and was simply a way to create kids with no joy or happiness involved in it, then it would be pretty boring on some level. But no, God created sex with a sense of pleasure, to stimulate us and make us connect with our spouse. Proverbs 5:18-19 tell us that we should be satisfied with our spouse. And sex is a two-way street to people, it's for both parties and one shouldn't deprive the other (1 Corinthians 7:5), hence why sex within marriage is so powerful and is something that Satan likes to corrupt as said in Hebrews 13:4 (it's also why masturbation is a sin because you are only one half of a whole).
3. Marriage is for Prevision, specifically in terms of the husband providing for the wife for two reasons. The first is that the wife is "a weaker vessel". Not in terms of spirituality or maturity or even socially, but in terms of physically, thus why the man is called to provide for his wife and family. Secondly, it's good for the man to provide because he feels like he's doing what he was created to do (and if you look at the first few chapters of Genesis, that would be correct!). 
4. Marriage is for Partnership. This is probably the most obvious of them all. In Genesis 2, it's said that God created women from man because man should not be alone. Men and women are made for each other, that's why they're comparable, that's why they (not a man and a man or a woman and a woman) can reproduce because God LITERALLY MADE marriage for one man and one woman so they could be partners in life. Ephesians 5:31 specifically says that when two are married, they have now become ONE FLESH. Essentially, and this is echoed throughout Scripture, this means that they aren't simply individuals anymore, it means that they are each half of a whole.
5. Marriage is a Picture. This is exactly what I've been talking about the entire time, but it needs to be reiterated here. Ephesians 5:22-33 talks about how marriage is a PICTURE of Christ and the Church! When talking about this, it gets a little tricky, but I'm going to tell it to your straight from Scripture (1 Peter 1-9, Ephesians 5:22-28), and if you disagree or are offended, then take it up with the Almighty Holy God. As marriage is a picture of Christ's relationship with the Church where Christ is the head and we do as He will's, loving Him in return, then marriage should be the same way. Now, I don't mean this to undermine women, but Scripture very clearly has a place for men and women in the context of marriage. The husband is a picture of Christ, though not perfect he is the head of the relationship, and thus the family. Thus, as Christ loves the Church, so must a husband love his wife unconditionally. The wife is the picture of the Church, which means she is called to be submissive to her husband (provided he is not making her break God's law obviously). This is something that should really be super-clear, but many choose to ignore it due to personal bias or cultural norms.
6. Lastly, but certainly not least, Marriage is for Purity. This goes right back to the 10 Commandments talking about sexual sin outside of marriage. It's wrong to have sex outside of the covenant of marriage, and sometimes that's hard to remember. Often we don't want to remember it, but that's the way it's supposed to be. Sex within marriage is something sacred to God, it's something that should be undefiled, meaning only the husband and wife should ever have sex with each other! In fact, 1 Corinthians 7:9 says that it's better to be married if you can't control your impulses than to have sex outside of marriage! They go together, they aren't supposed to be separate.

Here's the thing, obviously this is something I'm passionate about. I don't like divorce, and neither does God. The only time divorce is okay with God is when abuse or infidelity is involved, not to mention if an unbelieving spouse leaves the other. It's not okay to just give up and leave. 

1 Corinthians 7:15 says, "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or sister is NOT under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace." God doesn't even say that it's okay, He just says that you don't have to deal with being under that bondage anymore. This is why it's so important to not be unequally yoked with someone who not only doesn't believe in Jesus but also doesn't have the same views on Scripture and marriage as you do (2 Corinthians 6:14)!

In all honesty, it truly saddens me that today so many people have the wrong view on marriage. It's not between a man and a man or a woman and a woman, and it's not living together or having sex either. Marriage is between a man and a woman and is a picture of Christ and the Church made manifest. I cannot stress enough how important and powerful marriage is and how much I hate that it is being perverted in our society and culture today.

In case any of you are interested, those six points above are points I pulled from a message Tanner Ripley preached to us at CrossLife last semester, here's a link for you guys if you want to take a listen, I highly recommend it: Marriage & Sexuality

Godspeed!