Only Within Marriage

Scripture References: Song of Solomon 1:2, 4:5; 1 Peter 3:1-7

Roland Bainton correctly wrote that many in the Renaissance saw love as an ennobling passion but felt it was possible only outside of marriage because it could be given without any claim of one party on the other. Thus, romantic love became the source of adultery; it was anti-marriage and anti-home. Love until love dies, then stop living together! Very convenient, very modern. (As one set of vows said: “to live together as long as both shall love”).

The courts of the Renaissance embraced the ideals of twelfth-century French royalty, which viewed sexual dalliances with bemused tolerance. Matrimony to them was simply a convenience for uniting families and transmitting property.

Obviously, early Protestantism rejected so impious a view of love. It subordinated romance to duty but found love and romance coexisting in marriage, with love its ultimate grace. Like kindling, romance ignites the courting; like logs, love alone keeps the marriage fires burning. God designed human love to expand and deepen within marriage, and those who embrace God’s view find their experience equaling his expectation.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved.