Marriage is on the decline today, even among evangelical Christians. When people finally do get married, it is at much later ages. In 1950 the average age at time of marriage was 20, by the 1990's it was 25 and today its close to 28. You see Christian teens and young adults in our culture being told to pursue purity, pursue holiness and to pursue abstinence; but, where is the call to pursue a godly marriage. Our young adults' highest calling is to be the mothers and fathers that train up our next generation. It is not by mistake that God created our bodies to be the most fertile between the ages of 20-25. After that time, there is a slow decline with a sharp drop when you reach your 30's.
"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth." ~Proverbs 5:18
Our young adults are told to pursue your education, enjoy your freedom, make sure you can take care of yourself and then, maybe, you can think about marriage. If...you can find the right person. But are these really the right priorities?
"And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." ~Genesis 2:22-24
God is to be first and foremost in our every pursuit, and after that it is our spouse. A man is called to leave his father and mother and cleave to his spouse -- not his education, his job, or his freedom, but his spouse. Much of the growth and strength of marriage comes from struggling through those early years together.
Many Christian young adults cite that a relationship will hinder their ability to serve God. But, God knew it was not good for man to be alone and created a helpmeet for him. A helper that is there to encourage them, be a blessing to them, grow them and help them to become all that God has called them to be. Yes, there are those few who have the gift of singleness. But for the rest of us, that gift is our spouse.
I think that one reason many of the young adults of today seem to be stuck in perpetual adolescence is the delay of marriage in our culture. Marriage was designed by God to be an example of Christ and the church, to grow us, to teach us about love, forgiveness and what it means to sacrifice your life for another. Having another person in our life takes the focus off of self and helps us to mature into the person that God has called us to be.
Let's encourage our young people to have a vision for godly marriage and raise them up to lead the next generation.
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