Marital relationship and eternity

[arunangelo]

God created us in His own Divine image (Genesis 1:27), put His Spirit in us and calls us to share His life (John 15:4); so that we may have His peace (John 14:27) and joy (John 15:11). God thus desires to live in a love relationship with us for all eternity (John 14:3). In order to have this love relationship with God we must also have a similar relationship with people around us; because how we express love to our fellow human beings is a direct expression of our relationship with God (Matthew25:35-40). Furthermore, how we love others is best expressed in marriage because in marriage we are called to deny our own life in order to form a new life with our spouse (Ephesians 5:31); love our spouse as Christ loves His Church; sacrifice our own interest in the process of serving our spouse (Ephesians 5:21-31); and help our spouse to find healing when there is hurt, betrayal and infidelity. The Lord told Hosea to love his wife again through she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. He further told him to love her as the Lord love Israelites, though they turn to other gods (Hosea 3:1). Marital love therefore mirrors Christ’s love; which He expressed by sacrificing His own interest, accepting suffering and death, in order to heal us of sins (which we committed against Him by our betrayal and infidelity) and form an eternal love relationship with us. Marital relationship, therefore, is a precursor of our eternal relationship with God.

[bernee51]

God created us in His own Divine image (Genesis 1:27), put His Spirit in us and calls us to share His life (John 15:4); so that we may have His peace (John 14:27) and joy (John 15:11). God thus desires to live in a love relationship with us for all eternity (John 14:3). In order to have this love relationship with God we must also have a similar relationship with people around us; because how we express love to our fellow human beings is a direct expression of our relationship with God (Matthew25:35-40). Furthermore, how we love others is best expressed in marriage because in marriage we are called to deny our own life in order to form a new life with our spouse (Ephesians 5:31); love our spouse as Christ loves His Church; sacrifice our own interest in the process of serving our spouse (Ephesians 5:21-31); and help our spouse to find healing when there is hurt, betrayal and infidelity.... Marital relationship, therefore, is a precursor of our eternal relationship with God.

Naturally then this applies to Adam and Steve.

[Lux]

Personally, I have no desire whatsoever to get married. Maybe it's because I'm too young, but most girls I know plan to get married someday, or even wish they were already married. I honestly don't see the point.

[Zzyzx]

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Personally, I have no desire whatsoever to get married. Maybe it's because I'm too young, but most girls I know plan to get married someday, or even wish they were already married. I honestly don't see the point.

Can an unmarried woman have fulfilling relationships (possibly including sexual intimacy)? Perhaps you can reply in the "Non-Marital sex" thread.

[Zzyzx]

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According to Christian lore, people are reunited with loved ones in "heaven".

How might this play out? A woman who is divorced remarries and is then widowed -- she then marries a man who is a widower and they both soon die. In "heaven" do the former marital partners form a five-some?

If woman's divorced the ex-spouse remarries and he and the new wife both eventually die, does that necessitate a six-some?

If the woman didn't like the second husband, is she forced to reunite with him?

People who claim to know about "heaven" should be able to give definitive answers to these questions.

[Lux]

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Personally, I have no desire whatsoever to get married. Maybe it's because I'm too young, but most girls I know plan to get married someday, or even wish they were already married. I honestly don't see the point.

Can an unmarried woman have fulfilling relationships (possibly including sexual intimacy)? Perhaps you can reply in the "Non-Marital sex" thread.

I can't seem to find the thread, so I'll answer here, hopefully it's not too off-topic.

Absolutely. I can love someone and plan to spend my life with that someone without putting my signature on a piece of paper, or wearing a ring. This is one of the most important reasons why I consider marriage obsolete.

This is a very personal opinion, but I don't think legal considerations should be part of the love between two people. In fact, I think it actually subtracts from the relationship to have a need to "make it official". If I had a promise from my partner that he wants to be with me forever, that would have the same value, in my eyes, than a piece of paper stating that we are man and wife.

As for sexual intimacy, the whole concept of "no sex before marriage" seems so utterly outdated to me that I never even considered it as an option. It's nothing more than a hypocritical, self-righteous "moral" requirement.

A healthy sex life is, in my opinion, extremely important for both men and women. There are numerous things that make sex great, including trust and love, but all those things are perfectly obtainable without being married.