The support of the family, by the individual person, family unit itself, and the larger society is likely the major influence for gaining what might be called the good society. The family is the microcosm of the larger society, and provides a miniature model of what that society may be – good or ill. It is also a favored creation of God in which he nurtures life and in loving care makes a workable unit of persons, persons serving each other in love, and illustrating in the unit the hints of the family of God beyond nature. It is also illustrated in the dysfunctional family – the splintering away from the family of God. The family is a basic idiom of the Scripture, the living parable of God’s working with humanity, and God’s projection for mankind in immortality – to the family of God nurtured by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the process. In that process the Church is cast as the Bride of Christ in a magnificent union that never ends – no divorce. The concept itself seems so exotic and strange that it is easy enough for persons without faith, perhaps some with faith, to shrug off the biblical story. Even with high respect for marriage and family, many persons reject the usefulness of the spiritual meaning. Sensing something of spiritual meaning it is common to gain a bit of euphoria at a marriage. Unless it is lost or not invoked, the spiritual meaning of marriage and family precedes the physical/social meaning. Both the physical (nature) and the spiritual (divine), can attend true marriage factors. That blessed context can be chosen or rejected, with acceptance known and unknown related to consequences. Both mankind and God have marriage and divorce laws to guide management of the consequences and some of the unknowns. (All assumed in male/female identities.)
Learning, understanding and interpreting meaning from God is found in the experiences of Adam and Eve, with their sons; Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph with their wives and children even carried over to the relationships of siblings; Hannah, her marriage and Samuel her son, and Samuel’s sons; Ruth and Naomi; Saul and Jonathan; Jesse, and his children, but some detailing for David with his wives and children; Esther and Mordecai (father figure); and so the story proceeds to Mary and Joseph with the introduction of the Son of God through the marriage and family process that included the relationship between Jesus and half-brothers/sisters, and the story proceeds even to the observation that Peter’s wife joined him in ministry while Paul, the Apostle, pressed on alone – as related to blood or marriage. The Apostle Paul addressed his cohorts, found by him, as his spiritual sons. The Apostles offered detailed counsel for families and likened that relationship to mankind and God – in detail in Ephesians 5:20-33.
The world’s population entered the 21st century with a decaying trend in society focusing on the family. A new definition, never before known in civilization joined persons of the same gender to each other in what is called a marriage. It creates an alternative which will cause difficulty for some men and women wrestling with their identities, failing in their choices, and opting to another. The confusion, which might have been treated in a satisfactory fashion a favored legal identity for all mankind, has been passed over so to take the characteristics of human physical gender and ascribing them to psychological experience. Even in same gender marriage one person is likely to take on the social role of the male and the other the female. Roles resting on father, mother and child are manufactured. Admittedly the new definition is not the only cause for decline and loss of the spiritual as well as the natural meaning of marriage in application. With some effort there will be attempts to sophisticate the public to accept the varieties of experience – sans prejudice and ill will. At this writing there has been a rise of prejudice and ill will toward those holding to historic tradition. We know that physical intimacy took many forms of practice in history faced with laws negative to the practices. Some of these are now being legalized from what was treated as illicit practice – even afforded titles from Scripture – like sodomy, and we have no adequate experience to date to discover how it will affect the traditional family or society in general faced with other depreciating factors. The main Christian concern in a peaceful society is to be free to teach/practice its standard. When the public approves policies violating Scripture, persons and society will inherit conflicting contexts to manage. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020