I DO! Two words that can certainly impact upon one's life! Holy Matrimony is a wonderful gift from God. From the very beginning, God in His infinite wisdom, ordained marriage as proper and sacred. A Christian marriage should provide love, contentment and much happiness!

The origin of marriage was instituted by God when He declared, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him" <Gen. 2:18>. So God fashioned woman and brought her to man. On seeing the woman, Adam exclaimed, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" <Gen. 2:23>. This passage also emphasizes the truth that "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh" <Gen. 2:24>. This suggests that God's ideal is for a man to be the husband of one wife and for the marriage to be permanent.

Back in Bible times people frequently married at a young age, a fact which made the parents' choice of spouse a practical matter. By New Testament times, the Jewish leaders had decided to establish minimum ages for which a marriage contract could be drawn up. The age was set at 13 for boys and 12 for girls. If by chance the young wife lost her husband in war or accident, she remained within the clan and was wed to her brother-in-law or next of kin. This arrangement is known as LEVIRATE MARRIAGE. It is the basis for the story of Ruth and Boaz <Deut. 25:5-10; Ruth 3:13; 4:1-12.

The New Testament does not contradict the teachings about marriage in the Old Testament. Most marriage teaching in the New Testament comes from Jesus and the apostle Paul. As a matter of fact, Jesus' first miracle occurred in Cana in Galilee when He and His disciples were attending a wedding <John 2:1-11>. Our Lord gave His blessing and sanction to the institution of marriage. On another occasion, when Jesus was asked about marriage and divorce, He quoted two passages from Genesis. "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" <Gen. 1:27; 2:24; 5:2; Matt. 19:4-6>. He taught that marriage was the joining together of two people so they become "one flesh." Not only did God acknowledge the marriage; He also joined the couple. Jesus made no allowance for divorce except that of sexual immorality in the marriage. Even then, divorce is not commanded but simply allowed. God's Word furthers us along on the institution of marriage with the writings of Paul.

The Apostle Paul fills us in on the problem faced by a Christian believer whose spouse does not believe. He reasoned that if the unbelieving partner is willing to live with the Christian, then the Christian should not dissolve the marriage. Remaining with the unbelieving partner could result in his or her salvation <1 Cor. 7:14>. If however, the unbelieving spouse decides to leave, Paul releases the Christian from the marriage <1 Cor. 7:15>. Paul also informs us in <1 Tim. 5:15>, that he desired young widows to remarry, we can rightly assume that the same goes for widowers.

In Ephesians, Paul showed how a marriage relationship can best function. First, he said, "Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord" <Eph. 5:22>. The model for the wife's submission is the church, which is subject to Christ <Eph. 5:24>. Second, husbands are to love their wives. The role that the husband plays is outlined by Jesus Christ, who loved His bride, the church, so much that He died for her <Eph. 5:25>. In closing, let us each recognize marriage for the sacred covenant that it is. Let God be your guide in choosing a mate! Don't be impatient, and never intentionally marry anyone who is not spiritually like-minded! Glory be unto God!