Well, the 2017 edition of the Florida College Lectureship is in the books. We attended last week and found the subject of the divine pattern for marriage to be a very interesting one. I have never personally had the honor of marriage, but still find it a very important and relevant topic as it is an institution designed by God for the preservation of the family. There is no other design that man could come up with that can take the place of marriage and it is quite a sinful and godless state that we find ourselves living in modern society. The pattern of marriage is not being followed as divorce rates climb and many young couples would prefer to live together instead of making the commitment to one another that a long term marriage requires.

I have always thought that much of the fault for this type of relationship lies with the male of the species. The bible says that a man is to leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife (Genesis 2:24). In today’s society many men take advantage of the woman by not making a commitment to her as God has ordained, but still enjoying the benefits of marriage in a sinful relationship that God condemns. A woman should not become involved in such a relationship, but often may feel forced into it, as if she cannot have a relationship at all if she doesn’t give into the man’s desires.

A Christian male should not put such pressure on his mate and if you find yourself in a “living with” relationship at this point in your life you should make every effort to get your partner to commit to marriage as God’s plan for the family. Living in sin, you cannot be in a true relationship with God.

You must live as He would have you do, as old fashioned as it may seem, or He cannot and will not accept you as a true child of God. If you cannot get your partner to commit, get out of the relationship. It is the only way to be right with God. Living the godly life means patterning your life the way He has outlined in scripture. It can start by getting your relationship with your partner the way he has designed for it to be.

If you are single, that is fine too, as long as you can remain celibate and not be involved in sinful relationships through fornication or adultery. For most, however, it is better to marry and not take the chance of terrible temptations to fulfill one’s natural sexual desires in sinful ways. God gave us these sexual desires and it is His plan that we fulfill them through marriage.

There is much more that can be said about marriage and the family and much more was said at the FC lectures last week. Next years lectures will be on the history of the Church and will be held, as always, on the first full week of February. We should all make every effort to attend and learn much from excellent speakers on the subject.

The bottom line for this year is that if you are involved in some other relationship with a partner in life, but it is not as God has designed, you need to correct that as soon as possible. Marriage is not just the legal document that essentially means nothing. It is a contract or covenant that is between the man, his wife and God.

Putting God into the relationship goes a long way toward keeping the marriage for life as God has intended it to be. This may sound odd in modern society, but it is a principle that is from the very beginning and never goes out of style. Let’s see that we all do our best to live up to it and with God’s help we can learn to live godly and righteously in this present sinful age.

May God bless and keep you until next time.