In the Know – I Don’t Take Thee
According to the Wall Street Journal, “for the first time since the U.S. began tallying marriages, more Americans of prime marrying age have stayed single rather than tied the knot, the culmination of a tectonic shift in the role of marriage and relationships that began in the 1960’s.” In the September 29, 2010 article, Conor Doughterty reports that for the first time the proportion of people between the ages of 25 – 34 who have never been married exceeded those who had 46. 3% versus 44.9%.
How do those of us who believe God gives marriage as a gift – a gift to make Him famous, bring Him glory – influence our children to believe the same?
In her recent release “Six Ways to Keep the “Little” in Your Girl” Dannah Gresh gives this advice, “Start young!”. Dannah encourages us to begin early in our children’s lives telling them what they can have in the future. Dream with her about the type of relationship God wants her to have. Teach your son that the decisions he makes today effects the beauty of that relationship in the future.
We need to encourage them to become the type of person they hope to marry. Share scripture that speaks to what type of person that is. Jesus said our sons are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. What would that look like? Does your husband do that and you can point that out to your child? Proverbs 31: 10 – 12 encourages women that a good wife is worth far more than rubies; her husband has full confidence in her. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. Can your daughter’s friends have full confidence in her; does she bring them good and not harm? Friendships is a great place to start practicing!
Last of all, pray with your child for the one that will marry, if that is God’s purpose, one day. Through our words and our prayers, we can set the expectation that God’s will for our children is to honor Him through a godly marriage. Each day we can prepare them to be a husband or wife of honor.
