Wow! In my last post I recommended a Presbyterian pastor to you, in this post its the writing of a Southern Baptist: Al Mohler. Mohler has written an excellent piece on marriage in which he uses the Anglican Book of Common Prayer as the framework. He states that the BCP gives 3 reasons for marriage: children, expression of sexuality, and life-long companionship. The ultimate purpose, however, is the glory of God.

Marriage is about our happiness, our holiness, and our wholeness–but it is supremely about the glory of God. When marriage is entered into rightly, when marriage vows are kept with purity, when all the goods of marriage are enjoyed in their proper place–God is glorified.

Our chief end is to glorify God–and marriage is a means of His greater glory. As sinners, we are all too concerned with our own pleasures, our own fulfillments, our own priorities, our own conception of marriage as a domestic arrangement. The ultimate purpose of marriage is the greater glory of God–and God is most greatly glorified when His gifts are rightly celebrated and received, and His covenants are rightly honored and pledged.

All of this is counter-cultural…as it was in the first centuries when the Church found itself swimming against the tide of the Roman Empire. We as the church have a lot of work to do in this arena. Our calling is to live counter-cultural lives in all we do. This is especially needed in our highly sexualized society. We have a couple of huge barriers to overcome.

For too long, the Church has failed to affirm the essential goodness of sex..as something that God created and intended for a man and a woman to enjoy within the context of marriage. Because the Church did not address sex, or allowed it to be seen as something inherently sinful, society has claimed it for its own. Now we find ourselves involved in politicized debates regarding sex and marriage that only seem to be adding to the negativity that people have when thinking about Christianity.

On top of this, we have largely abdicated our authority to speak about sexuality. One reason for this is that we have failed to live much different lives than the culture around us. The divorce rate of Christians is just as high as those outside the church (although those it is lower for those Christians who actually attend church…that’s another discussion altogether!). The premarital sexual behavior is also similar. We are seen as hypocrites when we fail to live out the message we are proclaiming. As a community of faith, we must be about strengthening and encouraging one another and our marriages.

Next month, I’ll be celebrating my 15th anniversary with my wife Kris. God has blessed us with each other. My life would not be what it is today with her.  It has not always been easy, and I know that more difficult times will come our way, but our hope is in the Creator of marriage. Our hope is in Him who is able to to do abundantly more than we could ever imagine (Eph. 3:20-21)! I look forward to many more years of walking with Kris in marriage together.

Shane