Now is the time to reclaim God's gift of marriage, pastor says By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Online Tuesday, October 29, 2002 INDIANAPOLIS – People have forgotten that marriage is a creation of God for the glory of God, a minister told the Confessing The Faith Conference, and now is the time to reclaim that gift. The Rev. Thann Young, speaking to more than 700 people Oct. 25 during the first-ever gathering of renewing and confessing Christians in North America, said the goal of marriage should be more than "simply friendship or companionship. It should be oneness. As we consider the institution of marriage as a divine creation of God, we are reminded that divine means holy, godly and godlike. … We need to understand that marriage was given to the church and that it is a rite, a ritual, an institution of the church. God gave marriage to the household of faith. It is a divine gift." Young, the founder and pastor of Agape AME Church in Olney, Md., serves on the board of directors of the Alliance for Marriage, which is a non-profit, faith-based, ecumenical and interfaith organization based in Washington, D.C. In May, the alliance brought to Congress a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to define marriage only as the union of a man and a woman. It states, in part, "Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any state, no state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." In June, commissioners to the 214th General Assembly voted 272-224 not to endorse the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. The proposed resolution affirmed "the historic and continuing support of the Presbyterian Church (USA) for the institution of marriage, defined as 'a civil contract between a woman and a man' (Directory for Worship, 4.9001)" and expressed "the desire of the church to see that definition safeguarded in civil law by all appropriate means, including the Federal Marriage Amendment now proposed in Congress." Despite a recent poll showing that 76 percent of the American people favor a constitutional amendment protecting marriage, one opponent told General Assembly commissioners, "We [the church] are built on a foundation of inclusiveness, and there is no basis for any discrimination. We are not the ones to judge that God may have chosen two persons of the same gender to have a lifelong relationship." Young told the overflow crowd packed into the plenary hall, "This amendment has been endorsed by religious leaders and groups from across the country. It is the desire of some groups to redefine marriage in such a manner that the institution of marriage would become more of a legal right and entitlement than a sacred and divine union." He then referred to Genesis 2:18-24, where Scripture tells how God created Adam and Eve. "God's creative work was not complete until he made Eve," Young said. He could have made Eve out of dust as He made Adam and the creatures of the Earth, "but for some divine reason, God decided to make Eve from Adam's very own flesh and bones. In doing so, he illustrated to us that, symbolically, Adam and Eve became one flesh. This is a miraculous and spiritual union of heart, souls and lives." Marriage is more than a legal or social contract, he said. It involves more than "simply blending two persons. It includes a third person, Jesus Christ, who gives purpose and direction to the relationship." Young then challenged the clergy to play a more pro-active role in teaching people that marriage is a "divine and holy institution." The clergy, he said, must be committed to "teaching, preaching and informing those within and outside the household of faith that marriage is a divine institution sanctioned by the church for the glory and honor of God." "If we are to play a vital and relevant role in changing the tide of divorce, separation and the social breakdown of the family," Young said, "we must be committed to teaching marriage from a Biblical perspective, steeped in reality, undergirded by the Holy Spirit." He said if committed Christians are to reverse the current trends concerning the state of marriage in this country, then they must realize that the answer doesn't lie in government proposals or in reports by psychologists or sociologists, but in Jesus Christ. "We must never lose sight of the fact that the institution of marriage belongs to the church. We own it. It was given to us by the Lord. And if we own that institution, we must learn to handle it with care. We must nurture it as a precious gift from God," Young said, adding: "God has not called us to change the institution of marriage. We have been called to uphold it and embrace it, respect it and be committed to it."

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