Marriage and Family Life: The EarlyYearsEveryone longs to give themselves
wholly and deeply to someone else and
to be loved unconditionally in return.
This is the ideal God has outlined for
marriage.Marriage is to resemble His
relationship with us.
Asyoungpeopledateandexperience
theexhilarationof fallinginlove,theycan
easilybeswayedbytheirfeelingstoenter
arelationshiptheywouldotherwiseavoid.
Datingandfallinginloveisgreatfun,but
italsoleadstooneof themostserious
issuesof life—whowillyouchooseas
yourlifepartner.Thisiswhycourtshipis
soimportant.Itistimespentwitheach
other,gettingtoknoweachother,
worshipingtogether,sharinginterestsand
dreams.TheApostlePaulwrote,“Can
twowalktogetherexcept
theybeagreed?”Thisillustratesthe
importanceof choosingaChristianmate.
Beinginloveisnotenough.Whenyou
enterintothemaritalcovenantwithyour
spouseandwithGod,youmustbothstart
fromthesameplace.Thetwomustbeone
inChrist.
There are wonderful possibilities in
Christian marriage that do not exist in
secular marriage.In Christian marriage,
there is physical harmony,mental
harmony,and spiritual harmony.It has
been said that it take three to be in a
marriage—a husband,a wife and God.
Reflect on what God’s desires are for you,
your relationships,and your family.A Christian Perspective
Acouplemustmakemanycritical
decisionsintheearlyyearsofmarriage,
decisionsthatwillhavealong-lasting
impactontheirlifetogether.Someofthese
decisionsoughttobediscussedbefore
marriage,butlikelywillberevisitedand
renegotiatedatvarioustimesthroughout
themarriage.Thischapterhasattempted
toreviewafewofthemostimportant
decisionsorchoicesacouplewillmake.
Indecidingtomarryratherthan
cohabit,thecoupletakesonanew
identitythataffectsthewaytheythink
andactasindividualsandasasingle
entity.Marriagechangeshowthe
marriagepartnersperceiveothers,one
another,andeventhemselves.Because
theyhavecommittedtheirlivestoone
another,theyplantheirfuturetogether
andtakeactiontoensurethattheir
relationshipremainshealthy.
In the early years of marriage,a
couple will confront some common
cultural myths about marriage.If they
cling to these myths,they will become
disillusioned and dissatisfied with their
marriage.They must grow to understand
and accept more about themselves and
the reality of their life together.Summary