Last Thursday I wrote about the Wrong Reasons to Marry. Someone sent a message

My Parents – 52 years and counting.

asking if I would write about reasons why to marry, and of course I said I would.  Honestly, that was my plan all along. What are good, wholesome, right reasons to choose to marry? This post is not about finding the right person or about being the right person, I wrote about being the right person on July 09, 2012 and on selecting a spouse on August 27, 2012. Today we will stick to the Right Reasons.

1. Companionship. When God created woman and presented her to man, He intended for them to be companions, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.” (Gen 2:18). Adam’s reaction is priceless, “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.'” (Gen 2:23: NLT). Adam, after seeing all the animals had companions, found exhilaration in God’s creation of a companion for him.
2. Raising Children. God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. Marriage brings about children (naturally, adopted, or Foster Children). A good marriage, a good home, is an essential part of bringing about a responsible future generation. That is why many of my posts are about parenting.
3. Sexuality. Sexual intercourse is not dirty. God implanted this desire in His creation, but He also placed it within a loving, committed, marriage relationship. This is not to limit our fun, but for our emotional and physical well-being. There are no laws against and there are no regrets when we express our love in the intimacy of monogamous marriage. The Hebrew writer says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Heb 13:4).  Paul would add that we should not withhold intimacy from each other in marriage (2Co 7:2-5).
4. Love. When I ask young couples why they want to marry each other, the soon to be bride answers, “We love each other.”  I then ask the groom, “How do you know you lover her?  What is love?” The answer I want them to understand is love in the since of sacrifice, what the Greek word AGAPE came to symbolize.  I want them to see a LOVE that always wants the best for the other person and seeks to supply what is best for them. I want them to know that LOVE sacrifices my desires and needs to fulfill the desires and needs of my spouse. I challenge them to think about what their relationship will likely entail when they are celebrating 50 or 60 years of marriage. How will they cope if one of them requires long-term care? Real love supplies the needs of the other. If both husband and wife love in that way – WOW what a great marriage!
5. To Have A Partner on Your Journey to Heaven. I yield to the Apostle Peter for an explanation, “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1Pe 3:7)

Have a great marriage!

– Scott