A bacteria culture is used to let bacteria grow. That way a small sample can become a great mass – easily examined and diagnosed.
Marriage has entered a new stage. We are not able to easily say that the culture is yet large enough to examine definitively. Why are we looking at this new culture of marriage? In our day and age we recognize the symptoms of a new dis-ease, a completely new strain that was unknown years ago. And we are not completely at ease with what we see.
I say that in relation to a story of one of my relatives. She was married in the early 1950’s. As the story goes, they had seen each other a few times. Never “gone out”. The marriage proposal was before they had ever officially gone out, and the wedding was arranged with a quick call to a pastor. They both remained working following the wedding (in different towns) until they were able to arrange for a honeymoon and move in together. More than a half century later he passed away – both quite contented with this marriage!
No living together – they would figure each other out in the bounds of their marriage. No short-term commitment – this was for life. No huge wedding ceremony – they would accommodate their schedules as needed. No thoughts of adultery or other versions of marriage – one man, one woman, was good enough for them. The grounding stone in the relationship was Jesus Christ – God brought to them in the Spirit of Jesus.
We are living in a new day. Marriage is cultured in a whole new set of ideals. As we continue to open the ripened fruit of contemporary marriage, what will we find?