The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Kelcey W. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Research - The Sanctity of Marriage
Most sentences that start with "the sanctity of..." usually talk about the right to life. Not often to people use the word sanctity to describe marriage. Sanctity comes from the word sanctify, which means "set apart". When two people marry, God sets them apart exclusively for each other. The husband is set apart only for his wife, and the wife is set apart only for her husband.
God's standard for marriage is a lifetime commitment between one man and one woman ideally broken only by death. Adam and Eve were the first couple married in God's eyes. He ordained their marriage, because He saw that it was not good for man to be alone. God compared every creation He had made to Adam but found not one suitable to be a companion and helper. God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep then created Eve from Adam's rib. When Adam saw his wife, he said "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." A verse after his declaration says, "Therefore man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." This carries a sense of permanence.
Ideally, only death should break a marriage. In Moses' day, the Israelites were allowed to give their wives a certificate of divorce so the man couldn't simply kick his wife out and leave her with nothing. However, Jesus said that this command was brought about from the hardness of their hearts. Divorce should not be for just any reason – the only time a couple should be separated is if one of them has committed sexual immorality. In fact, Mathew 5:32 says that divorce, except for immorality, is adultery.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians about the way husbands and wives are to act toward each other. He says that marriage is a picture of what Christ did for us, His bride. He loved us enough to lay down His life for us, and that is the way a husband should love his wife – he should be willing to die for her. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:25-27). Paul also says that the wife is to submit to her husband as she would to the Lord (Ephesians 5:22). He goes on to say that the husband and wife should love each other as they love themselves, because "no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it."
Many examples of marriage around us today portray a lack of permanence, a sense of being temporary, and the ability to be "committed" to a person only as long as it is pleasing. When hard times hit, marriages seem to crumble. The couple decides that they have "fallen out of love." Really, this cannot happen – Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 that love never fails. True love is selfless and realizes that trouble comes along with marriage – just like becoming a Christian, marriage does not automatically make life happy and wonderful. Times of great joy do come, but the key for Christian marriage is to remember in the hard times that God will help the couple get through the trials, if they look to Him.
My parents approached their marriage with the opinion that divorce would never be an option. For me, this has been a great comfort. I have seen the heartaches of single parents, and I can see that marriage is God's plan for raising godly children (Malachi 2). When it comes time for me to marry, I am going to marry for life, "till death do us part". Until that time comes, I need to do my best to support and protect Biblical, godly marriage, when I vote, when I help support candidates, and when I pray. I can also help by praying for those I know to be strong in their marriages, to look to God, and to never give up.
