An Anecdote from the Past

An Anecdote from the Past

Parents, you are sending your children into a world each day that does not share your values. Whether they are at school or talking to friends on the phone or in their own rooms watching TV, they are being bombarded with today's warped view of life in general and of relationships in particular.

A term that was unheard of when many of you were dealing with the changes in your life that were brought on by raging hormones is "friends with benefits." It references a relationship that is based not only on mutual interests or homework assignments, but also on sex.

Turn back the pages of the calendar with me to a time when such a concept was unthinkable.

My lovely aunt and her handsome boyfriend spent most of their courtship in the living room of her family home. They sat quietly whispering their love for one another and their hopes for the future they planned to share.

Without fail, as they sat together on the couch, my grandmother (my aunt's mother) would be seated at the dining room table with her back to them, crocheting doilies or knitting sweaters and scarves.

As my dear Uncle Bob humorously recalled, Grandma had an uncanny way of knowing when he made a move. His attempts to kiss his exquisitely beautiful girlfriend were always met with a voice from the dining room saying, "YOU BETTER GO HOME."

And he did.

Five years later, after they had married and had their first child, a precious baby girl, Aunt Phyllis would sit on the same dining room chair that her mother had occupied to feed her baby. It was all those years later that she realized her mother had been watching every move the young lovers had made by watching their reflection in the glass doors of the china cupboard!

Their virtuous courtship was the prelude to their long and loving marriage. The family celebrated their 25th Anniversary with them and their 50th. They were faithful and loyal and loving to one another through the decades the Lord allowed them to share together--until He took them home to be with Him in glory.

You say that times have changed?

You're right, times have changed, but God's law has not changed. God's blueprint for a successful marriage between one man and one woman throughout their lifetime has not changed.

In this age when divorce is as rampant within the church as it is outside the church, parents must guide their offspring in the walk of faith, on the path of living honorably before a just and righteous God.

Live honorably with your spouse. Be resolute that nothing but death can separate you. Let your children be blessed to live within the walls of a godly home with Christian parents who embrace the truth of I Corinthians 13: 8, "LOVE NEVER FAILS."