What is Marriage?

[akanetuk]

Right from Creation, God’s purpose for Mankind has always been good, but mankind has turned out to be his own culprit, turning against the various beautiful plan the Creator had for him through

disobedience. What is marriage: marriage is an ordained institution established by the Almighty for

the happiness and development of mankind. It is the coming together of two souls to further develop themselves morally and mentally, by assisting, complementing, and helping each other through Love.

The decision to get married is one of the most important decisions one makes in life. Marriage is a

lifetime institution and therefore should not be entered into carelessly. Take your time, access your

partner, observe and check out his /her characters. Ask questions where and when necessary, discuss issues, share your opinions, and pray before making your final decision. Some may ask “why do I need to pray?” Prayer is a means for dialogue with our creator, during prayers our troubles, gratitude,challenges are made to Him. And we all know that nothing is hidden from our Creator, through prayers the Almighty can reveal a lot of things to us. In marriage one must be ready emotionally, mentally, financially and physically.

Getting married does come with the goodies but the couple have to work for the peace, love and harmony of the relationship through understanding and building a solid connection. Just like every other institutions, there are guiding principles when it comes to marriage. As an established institution, both parties (the couples) must be involved in the building process and after building you don’t just sit and look at the building, you must make sure you maintain and sustain the beauty and health of the marriage. Marriage is different from what is played in the movies, though most movies can be educative, but in real life what is applicable to each individual is different.

To succeed in marriage one must be willing to adjust, understand and consider the opinions,

and wishes of others. Marriage goes beyond procreation; it is a coming together of the two bodies,

souls and spirits to become one. Marriage is established around love and love is the greatest

commandment. The following biblical passages explains love.

Mark 12: 31 ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

The above bible passage explains that love is a commandment and therefore we have no choice

other than to obey. To further explain this: if you love you neighbor you won’t think of hurting

him/her. And neighbor is anyone we come across. Love forms a protective cover against fear and

evil.

Corinthian 13: 4 -7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not

proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no

record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,

always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.

For those who are still confuse on whether they are in love or not, the above bible passage

provides qualities one should look out for, these qualities are like sign post pointing the direction

to the beautiful field of love.

1 Peter 4: 8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins”.

Truly love does not draw attention to sin, but seeks to forgive, build, improve and nourish.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of

God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1

John 4:7-8

God is Love, and Love is God. The two cannot be separated. A Godly person is under obligation to

love others.

Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up

for her”.

Jesus Christ is an ultimate example of Love, a Heaven king who left His throne to show man the

way to paradise.

Proverbs 18: 22 “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD”.

The above bible chapter further proves that marriage is important. In finding a wife a man finds a

good thing, but the blessing promised here applies when a man finds a godly wife. Now here is

how the blessings are unlocked through a good wife. A good wife helps in building the home, she is

like the light always pointing to the right path, grounded in courage and strength. There are more

qualities to be unraveled when you love a godly woman wholeheartedly. It is like nurturing a plant

until it blossoms and bring out lovely tasting fruits.

From the above passages, we can determine that the success of marriage is anchored on love. Love is the oil that keeps the marriage relationship burning. When you love someone you won’t think or act anything outside goodness.

Before going into marriage, study and imbibe human values and learn to respect cultures and must

importantly try to understand the concept of love. It is for this reason that self-development is very

important. It is the knowledge you have learned and gained overtime that will be brought to bear in

terms of character and attitude during marriage. For the sisters, I instruct that they should not be a

woman that is in need of a man but rather be a woman that a man needs. The same lesson applies to the male folks. True beauty is a combination of both good character and physical radiance.

Some people are beautiful physically but lack the right character to make a good partner. Poet Robert Browning sums it all, "Success in marriage is more than finding the right person: It is

being the right person."

[EMRASUL]

Marriage by agreement
Henna on a Muslim bride's hands, Tamil Nadu, India.
The first of the four common marriages that existed in pre-Islamic Arabia was marriage by agreement. This consisted of an agreement between a man and his future wife's family. This marriage could be within the tribe or between two families of different tribes.
Some women were forbidden from marrying outside of their tribe and had to either marry another member of the tribe or a stranger who would agree to live with the tribe.
In the case that involved a man and woman of two different tribes, the woman would leave her family and permanently reside with her husband. The children of these marriages were considered part of their father's tribe, unless a different arrangement had previously been made which returned the children to their mother's tribe.
The reason for inter-tribal marriages was to ensure the protection and possession of the children the couple would produce.[9] Women in inter-tribal marriages had more freedom and retained the right to dismiss or divorce their husbands at any time. The women had precise rituals they used to inform their husbands of their dismissal, such as this: "if they lived in a tent they turned it around, so that if the door faced east, it now faced west, and when the man saw this, he knew that he was dismissed and did not enter".

[btbc92]

Agreed! Bravo MyTake. Also I would add that spiritual maturity is needed as well as Mental, emotional and psychological as well. We have too many people who neglect these areas in their lives. Another is the selfishness and the hidden motives and intentions of the marriage. Some people are not fit for marriage, yet they do and ruin the blessing that is given. And some are not patient and heeding to instruction when given either.

[Library]

I'm not getting married. Marriage is too religious for me.

[MusicLover8098]

Same. All that religion would be too awkward for me, I would be lying to myself because I wouldn't truly believe any of that stuff bring said. If I do get married, it would only be if my girl really wants to and if she's fine with a non-religious ceremony

[relaxrelax]

study hard

www.girlsaskguys.com/.../a31406-why-i-believe-god-exists-the-bible-is-true-part-1

[jman46241]

I believe success in any relationship is not only being the right person, but also finding the right person for you..

[NajemEddine]

marriage is agreeing to let some girl annoy u for the rest of your life
get some kids u hate
u until one day either she leaves u or u just put a bullet in your head

[John_Doesnt]

I can't possibly take any of this seriously.

[YourFutureEx]

Waiting for it.