But as a Christian young lady and young man what should I know about marriage? From Genesis we learn that God created male and female. The female was created for a helpmeet for man. Nothing is said about God making a man for a man or a woman for a woman.

Adam and Eva were made in the image of God and for the purpose of baring children. Without male and female there would be no reproduction of other human beings. The Shakers are a good example of what happens when you do not marry.

Let’s look to the Bible for a pattern for marriage. Thayer defines the word “pattern” as it appears in our New Testament, “in a technical sense, the pattern in conformity to which a thing must be made” (p. 632). Please note the imperative “must.” When we speak of the biblical pattern for a thing, we have no option other than to accept and apply what the Scriptures say. To say that there is a biblical pattern for marriage is to say that it is God who has determined how marriage ought to be. (more…)