Let Them Get Married Young

Last year my friend’s daughter got married. This stood out to me because she was 18, an age younger than what our culture is currently choosing for themselves.

I was very happy for them, glad that they had found each other early in life and were in love. And I was so thankful that their parents supported them.

The wedding made me start thinking about marriage in our culture, how it is been relegated to later in life. People are out trying to experience “life” and missing out on its greatest assets, people and love.

Parents are very influential in this decision because they want their kids to be successful, and that often means college, or travel, so they encourage them to move in those directions. And not that those things are bad, but what do we do when a young couple that loves God want to get married?

We should let them.

Recently another young couple I know got engaged. This made me start thinking about the subject of getting married young again. I wanted to write something about this, so I got brave and asked my friend about her daughter getting married and their supporting it as parents.

Her response was awesome. This is what she said...

“The fact is that our society has changed so much in the last 100+years and not for the better in many ways. To me, WHO my daughter marries is much more important than when. Both these kids love the Father with all their heart and want to please him with their lives. My husband and I had many conversations with both of them about the pros & cons and then left it between them and The Lord. Most of the cons and most of the uproar from family & friends all had to do with what they would miss out on; then breaking that down it consisted of just worldly nonsense that would only bring regret anyway. Bottom line was, He was the right one and we speak into their lives as often as they need. Their motives and heart were right, and it was the most anointed wedding I've ever been to. People still talk about how the presence of God was so strong.”

Two great points my friend brought out:

1. Who my daughter marries is much more important than when.

The age of a couple does not determine success. There are so many other factors involved in what makes up a successful marriage, the most important of which is God in the lives of those getting married.

2. Most of the cons from family and friends had to do with what they would miss out on.

Popular culture says that people must experience all they can before they settle down and start a family, like that is lesser in some way. But it in no way reflects the truth or God's perspective on things.

I am so thankful that as parents they chose to listen to God instead of be molded into what is happening currently in our culture.

Now, why else is this important?

In Ephesians 5:21-33 , Paul writes,

And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.

As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Did you get that last part? “...it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.”

We should let them get married because they are a living, breathing, walking around picture of Christ and His Church.

God is an amazing creator, and He likes to speak to us in pictures. Through stories in His Word, the world He created, and even through us, He is demonstrating who HE is to all mankind.

Marriage is His visual picture of Jesus and His Bride. IT is the story of what He did when He redeemed and rescued us. It is the greatest love story ever told.

So, when your son or daughter want to get married at an age, where you might previously have questioned the timing, Let them.

They are preaching the Gospel with their lives.