My grandson is getting married! We are all excited, of course. Most conversations in the family right now are about the wedding preparations, and that is as it should be. One thing I have noticed; most engaged couples talk about the event, not the marriage.

My daughter recently told her son, there is so much being said about something that will take about twenty minutes. Be sure you take time to talk about marriage and what it means. Now, that is sound advice. I hope they heed her words and do just that—talk about marriage, plan for marriage, and invite God to the wedding and into their lives.

Matthew compares the marriage feast to the coming of Christ in Matthew 25. Revelation speaks of the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) with the church. Since there is the relationship of Christ with the church, His body, then how sacred must be the marriage of a man and a woman.

When God created man, He soon saw that there was no one designed especially for him. That is when he made woman and made a declaration of a formal union between them. Adam said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24). No other being fits this description of “a helper fit for him.”

In today’s world, we see many that are living together that are not married. This isn’t new. John tells us about a woman of Samaria that had five husbands, and she was living with a man who was not her husband (John 4).

Many young people think it is ok to “try out” a relationship with the idea of “making sure it will work.” That is why a couple needs to plan for the marriage, not just the wedding. Living together without marriage is a sin.

The bond of marriage is designed to be for life. Matthew says that fornication/adultery is the only reason for divorce. One partner being unfaithful to another is the only reason God allows for divorce. We see from His joining of Adam and Eve that He intended for it to last forever.

Fornication is “sexual relations between people not married to each other.” Adultery is defined as “voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse. Either is a sin in God’s eyes.

John the Baptizer lost his life because he preached against adultery. He told Herod and Herodias that they had no right to be married. Herodias had divorced Philip to marry Herod. John told them it was unlawful, but they paid no attention to him. In return for his teaching, Herod had him beheaded.

Sexual sin has always been a dishonor to God. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba, God punished him with the death of the child that was conceived in that relationship, and his kingdom saw no peace. The writer of Hebrews says that marriage should be held in honor among everyone. The marriage bed should not be defiled. Why? Because it is sacred, just as the relationship between Christ and the church is sacred. God’s promise is clear. “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 11:4).

It’s fine to make plans for the event. Just don’t forget to plan for the marriage. It is for life—one man, one woman, for life.

Sandra Oliver