THE PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE

  IT is fascinating to realise that the Creator of the world and the universe doesn’t while away time. The devil, who counterfeits God, also does not have time to waste, probably because he was created by the same God.

When the devil makes a move, his purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. When God created Lucifer the arch angel, now known as the devil, He created him with and for a purpose until iniquity was found in him. God is a God of purpose and there is nothing that He puts in place that is without purpose. Marriage was put in place with and for a purpose.

With the increase of iniquity and love growing cold, man has moved away from the purpose of God concerning marriage. The late Myles Munroe said; “Where purpose is not known abuse is inevitable.” If you do not know the purpose of a thing, all you will probably do is simply abuse it. Today we have humans without humanity because of a lack of purpose. No wonder we have all sorts of abuses; woman abuse, child abuse, man abuse, church abuse, company abuse, position abuse, government abuse, even marriage abuse etc.

The ignorance of purpose in societies around the globe is evident and manifests in various degrees.  God, the designer of marriage, has revealed enough truths about marriage. While we cannot know everything in the mind of God, what He has revealed in His Word is enough for us to understand how He wants us to love and behave in this world. We and our children are, therefore, accountable for what He has revealed (Deuteronomy 29: 29). Obeying all the terms of what has been revealed will eliminate abuses in marriage.   

   
Purpose: It is the original intention why something was made or put together; it is the original reason why something was made or assembled by the manufacturer. The purpose of anything determines its features, nature, design and function, and is key to fulfilment. God is a God of purpose and anything He plans is intentional, meaningful and guaranteed to succeed.

Companionship: Perhaps one of the profound purposes of marriage is summed up by Genesis 2:18, where God declared that it is not good for a man to be alone. It is God who saw the need for a man to have a companion.

The animals that passed before Adam for naming could not provide the kind of companionship that man needed. Hence God deemed it fit that He should create another human being not another man but a woman. We have already mentioned, in the previous article, that He did it by taking a rib from Adam and used it to fashion the newer model of humans.

Strength

God, in His wisdom, never intended that man should be alone. There is strength in numbers as the book of Ecclesiastes states that two are better than one, because they have a good return of their labor. And if either of them falls down, one can help the other up, and if two lie down together they will keep warm. The woman was created to be a loving companion and a helper for man.

A woman has to share his responsibilities and cooperate with him in fulfilling God’s purpose for his life and the life of their family. So, loving companionship was part of God’s instructions for man as a human being. However, a partner who would provide such companionship was not found among the animals, but only in the creation of a woman.

Therefore, the man need not experience loneliness when his wife is with him; according to God the loneliness of a husband is quenched by the presence of his wife not his friends. Marriage is a godly and legal institution where the man and the woman can enjoy true companionship as husband and wife. The world can get lonely at times because of the many pursuits and stressful environments we find ourselves in. God saw this before time begun and provided a solution.

Companionship

The world can provide temporary solutions like substance abuse, pets, sports, work, friends and many more. However, none can fill the void of companionship that Adam experienced until God created Eve. Companionship literally means sharing each other’s life, knowledge, experiences, hurts, joys, lows, highs, failures and achievements.

Companionship is about narrowing the distance between the husband and the wife. Physical intimacy, spending time together, being comfortable with each other, holding hands, eating together are all important ingredients in strengthening companionship.

Emotional and spiritual intimacy is often overlooked by many couples, yet it is foundational in companionship; a husband and a wife who are in a habit of praying together, laughing and crying together often have a strong bond. Most marriage breakdowns often start with emotional detachment which gives birth to physical detachment, where the husband and the wife even consider sleeping in separate bedrooms and subsequently lead separate lives.

This, however, shouldn’t be the case. God in all His wisdom gave married couples the gift of companionship; the husband becomes a true friend of the wife, likewise the wife to the husband; the husband becomes a confidant to the wife, likewise the wife to the husband; the husband can be vulnerable to his wife and feel no shame, likewise the wife to the husband. 

Husbands and wives who embrace this purpose of marriage - companionship set themselves up for good marriages and should be aware that this requires a lot of work, both husband and wife need to be intentional and prioritise each other. Next week we shall look at procreation as another imperative purpose of marriage. God bless you!

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