Marriage How God Sees It

When the Queen and Prince Phillip first came to Australia in 1954, I had the privilege of being one of the soldiers who lined the streets in Sydney as Guard of Honour for them. A few weeks later I asked Audrey to marry me and on the 9^th of April the following year we were married and as you see Audrey looked very lovely. This later photo of us dressed in very ordinary work clothes on the farm shows Audrey not just lovely but also very happy (anyone can buy nice clothes, but you cannot buy happiness it comes from love and commitment). Last month the Queen sent us a photo of herself and a card congratulating us for having reached our diamond anniversary (60 years of married life). Now wasn’t that nice?

When people get married they vow before God and in the presence of a minister, priest or pastor and their friends and family that they will look after each other “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health unto death us do part” Now that is a contract making a commitment which cements the relationship drawing them together as nothing else can and according to the bible has the backing of God who created us so if we honour that “contract” there are great rewards for us and our family. I am very concerned though by the fact that so many young people today are not bothering to avail themselves of that privilege that is rightfully theirs but are living together without getting married and are therefore ignoring God’s direction. I’m talking here of lovely young people who are friends of mine, and some older ones too. Why don’t they get married? Well there are a number of reasons but in God’s sight the matter is not negotiable. What is the answer then? Simple, find a minister, get 2 witnesses and take the vows; it will only take half an hour and the problem is solved. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being Judgemental here, I’m just worried that many people, and particularly young people, don’t fully understand that the bible does not permit sexual relations outside of marriage. The laws in our society change from generation to generation and Governments declare things legal or illegal depending on the mood of the people. However we must realise that God’s rules never change because they are perfect for people of all generations.

Each week I write short articles to endeavour to explain as simply as possible, how bible principles apply in our world today on relevant subjects so people who are not familiar with God’s instructions will not accidentally disobey and therefore sin without meaning to. For example, at the moment there is a very vocal movement in many countries insisting that the laws be changed to allow same sex couples to marry.

 For two people of the same sex to be fond of each other is no crime; when I was at school the hotel keepers son and I were great mates for years but it was not a sexual relationship; just a wonderful friendship.

God accepts us as we are and we have no right to be judgemental about another person if they are born different to us in any way: We are what we are and had nothing to do with our makeup. However what we do with what we are is our responsibility and God is quite definite that living in a Homosexual (marriage type) relationship is not acceptable to Him, for example: 1 Corinthians 6: 9 says in the New Living Translation “Don’t you realise that...those who indulge in sexual sin...or practice Homosexuality....none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God”. Now I didn’t make that law, I just felt it to be my responsibility to tell others who might not know so they can be aware of it and thus make an informed decision by taking God’s laws into account; after all, in the finality God’s laws take precedence over man’s laws as He is the supreme authority.  The wonderful thing about our God is that He knew we would make mistakes of all types: indeed the bible says “There is none righteous, no not one...all have sinned”.  And that is a hopeless situation but God loves us so much that he stepped in and sent Jesus to die for that sin, thus it can be deleted from our record; all we have to do is repent and believe on the Lord Jesus: “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but inherit eternal life”. How good is that?      Best wishes as you consider all that,  Tom.