An understanding of “Marriage in God’s Way” can be very useful to a Christian congregation in many aspects of its life. It can help with preparing couples for marriage, counseling couples in marriage crisis, helping teens deal with dating issues, guiding preschoolers to the foundation of loving relationships, helping widows and widowers deal with new relationships, and the list could go on. In fact, when a congregation is shaped by marriage in God’s way, it becomes a place where the justifying work of Jesus is made known loud and clear in words and actions. The evangelistic witness of a congregation is enhanced when it’s shaped by the sacrificial, unconditional and incarnational love of Jesus.
I treat this topic at length in an article I wrote recently for the online journal produced by Concordia University, Nebraska, Issues in Christian Education. See my article “How Congregations Can Be Proactive and Evangelical in Marriage Education” starting on page 21 of the summer 2012 edition. “Marriage in God’s Way” is NOT just about marriage. It provides the foundation for all the relationships associated with the life and witness of a Christian congregation. When we understand and teach marriage in God’s way, relationships prosper and the world sees the love of Jesus Christ incarnate.