Thanks to Weslie who sent a little article to me titled “Luther’s View on Marriage”. It’s only 8 pages but I’ve been reading it for a couple weeks now. I find Luther’s quotes in the article to be so profound I have to re-read so much of it. This blog is dedicated mostly to my journey of becoming a mother, but I’m finding I’m on another journey that I believe to be even more important, becoming a wife, the wife I want to be. I also believe that I must be a good wife in order to be a good mother and I parent these precious girl with another, my wonderful husband. These babies are the arrows in our quiver, or actually Phil’s quiver I guess! So it’s been good for me to sit and ponder some of what Luther writes on marriage.
The main question is how I can be sure that marriage is the right way for me to live. Am I not more free if I stay single? How can I be sure that this and not some other woman or man is the marriage partner for me and will stay that way, even after all attraction ceases? In times of crisis and conflict, what can I hold onto? Should I pursue the idea that someone else might be better suited for me? what can I base my decision on? Should I, do I have to be buffeted about by the many and varied voices I hear? Can I in the midst of all this find a place to stand and go forward? In light of all this, we can understand why Luther placed so much emphasis on the ‘estate’ of marriage. For us this has become an old-fashioned word that suggests something solid and immovable. But for Luther the concept of estate was intimately connected with both steadfastness and energy, products of the reliability of the word that ensures that life together will have the quality of endurance. The word holds all the various facets of an active life together, its beauty and peace as well as its crises and conflicts. The word of God lends stability to the estate of marriage and brings about the unconditional and permanent unity of one man and one woman.
Marriage today is anything but ‘unconditional and permanent’. It sounds like a nice idea to many people, but only if life together is smooth and happy. But what happens when the ‘crisis and conflicts’ come. When a marriage seems shaky, it’s then that the word of God is the only thing that ‘lends stability’. It’s then that we can cling to God’s promise that He is the one that has joined us to our spouse, it is He that created our Holy and blessed union. Therefore He will give it the ‘quality of endurance’. When I pray that He will help me to turn from myself and give me more and more love for my husband, I can be assured that He will because this is what He wants. My marriage is ‘solid and immovable’, a mountain of God’s promises.
