Jesus said, we are
to be as salt, and light. So we should not be surprised when things in the
world around are not as we would wish.
In India I came across Hindu 'gods' as I wandered down the street. But Christians share the good news that God is far more wonderful than any statue can suggest.
In the UK, the wider world is unsure what to do about relationships between man and woman. There is huge confusion.
Here too we have
good news to share.
Down the years Jews, and building on their tradition, Christians, have discovered what we call Christian Marriage - faithful, life-long commitment between a man and a woman. This has grown out our understanding of who God is and his purposes for our lives. Indeed, Jesus went out of his way to bless such a relationship (John 2).
As we have told ourselves the stories about marriage and faithfulness (eg Genesis 1-3, and indeed much of the book, etc.) we have come to see how it expresses something of the very nature of God, how it expresses God's love for us all (Ephesians 5), how it anticipates heaven (Revelation 21:2), and how it can provide a place of security and love for children to grow up. We might say that it is a building block of society.
As with jokes, the old stories are often the best ones. So today we can continue to tell these stories to the world around. And lest it be thought that we are merely nostalgic, let us also live out the stories in the specialness of married life: the security, protection and joy of sacrificial love shared for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse…
Down the years Jews, and building on their tradition, Christians, have discovered what we call Christian Marriage - faithful, life-long commitment between a man and a woman. This has grown out our understanding of who God is and his purposes for our lives. Indeed, Jesus went out of his way to bless such a relationship (John 2).
As we have told ourselves the stories about marriage and faithfulness (eg Genesis 1-3, and indeed much of the book, etc.) we have come to see how it expresses something of the very nature of God, how it expresses God's love for us all (Ephesians 5), how it anticipates heaven (Revelation 21:2), and how it can provide a place of security and love for children to grow up. We might say that it is a building block of society.
As with jokes, the old stories are often the best ones. So today we can continue to tell these stories to the world around. And lest it be thought that we are merely nostalgic, let us also live out the stories in the specialness of married life: the security, protection and joy of sacrificial love shared for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse…
We cannot and should not impose our
will (that would be to deny the democratic freedoms that Christianity has helped forge) – but we can and should point to and live out the ways that are
best, warning of the alternatives.
Deep in the heart of
many, and perhaps most, around us there is a longing for the deeper spiritual
values. Let us not lose our nerve. Let us share the good news, though let us do
so in ways that are gracious and winsome.
And even as
government loses its way, Ian Duncan Smith (Work & Pensions
Secretary) has spoken of how the birth mother and father provide the best
environment for children to grow up in.
Society adopted Christian marriage because it wanted to. Let us make society jealous again by the stories we tell, and the lives we live. Vive la difference!
Christian marriage is distinctive because it draws together the greatest diversity of relationship (man and woman), in the greatest sacrifice (life-long love) for the greater good of society (a foundational institutional). It is also in general the greatest place for children to be nurtured by their birth parents, and it recognises the unique role of a mother in child-rearing. That is (some of) why our language and laws should afford it a special place in society.
And let me add that those who are single have an even more wonderful calling, for their life is in the steps of Christ!
Society adopted Christian marriage because it wanted to. Let us make society jealous again by the stories we tell, and the lives we live. Vive la difference!
Christian marriage is distinctive because it draws together the greatest diversity of relationship (man and woman), in the greatest sacrifice (life-long love) for the greater good of society (a foundational institutional). It is also in general the greatest place for children to be nurtured by their birth parents, and it recognises the unique role of a mother in child-rearing. That is (some of) why our language and laws should afford it a special place in society.
And let me add that those who are single have an even more wonderful calling, for their life is in the steps of Christ!
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