I am fortunate to have Christian parents. My parents love the Lord and help each other in every way so they can reach the ultimate goal of heaven. I have been blessed to have Christian grandparents as well. They have taught me, loved me, and shown me the importance of being a Christian in God's family. I see through their lives how much easier it is to serve the Lord with a Christian spouse. Also, even as I am young, being together with young people my age that are Christians makes a big difference! I do not want to spend my life with someone who does not love the Lord. So, one reason I want to many a Christian is because of the example I have been shown (I Tim. 1:5; 5:2; Eph. 6:1-4).

Someone Who Loves the Lord and Cares About My Soul

I want to marry a Christian because I want to share my life with someone who loves the Lord and who cares about my soul. The simple fact that we have things in common about everyday things will make things brighter and better. I know that people who do not marry a Christian can convert them. This is shown in I Peter 3:1 when Peter speaks of wives being good examples to their husbands so "they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives." Philippians 3:17 also speaks of the worth of a good example. I would like to marry a devoted Christian be-cause he will have the same morals and beliefs shaped by the teachings of the New Testament which will help us both to lead a Christian life. It is difficult but not impossible to do right by yourself. I do not want to wake up every Sunday morning and not be able to go to worship with my husband. No doubt, we all need encouragement. I need encouragement every day, and I want to find comfort from my husband as I do in the Lord as well. I just pray that we will have already decided to follow Jesus.

Someone to Help Me Raise Godly Children

I want my children to grow up loving to serve the Lord. There can be different beliefs between a husband and wife about moral issues such as drinking, dancing, and mixed swimming if one is not a Christian. Children lean young. They know things when we do not know they are capable of knowing, and they see things when we do not know they are capable of seeing what we do. They pay attention. If we, as members of God's family, do not raise children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, who will? In the case of someone not marrying a Christian, when the children grow up, there will come a time when they will be asked to a swim party, a junior high school dance, or a "party." Who will give the answer? I want to share my life with a devoted Christian who loves my soul and someone who will work together with me so that we can encourage and lift each other up.

Someone Who Respects Me As A Christian

I see even as a teenager how much easier it is to date a Christian because he will respect me as a Christian at all costs. I do not have to explain and defend why I believe what I believe, or fear how he will treat me. A devoted Christian will keep God's commandments regardless of the cost (Eccl. 12:13). Ephesians 5:25-28 teaches how a husband is to love his wife even as Christ loved the church, and how a husband is to love his wife as his own body. This is even to the extent that he would give his life for her. This is a reason I want to many a Christian boy. I want to be respected and loved as a Christian and a wife.

To Make Our Home a Center of Christian Activity

Having a Christian family will enable us as Christian parents to do things together as the Lord wills. As a Christian family, it would be easier to help teach others. That is one of our Christian obligations. In the Great Commission we are told, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20). Also, we can pray together. Without prayer, we would be without hope. And I would like to be married to a devoted Christian with whom I can pray. We, as Christians together, could pray together, study the Bible together, visit together, entertain in our home together, and most importantly, love the Lord together.

To Serve the Lord and Reach Heaven Together

Deuteronomy 6:5 teaches us, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." In verse 7, we are taught to teach our children with all diligence "when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." This shows the importance of doing his will all the time. With a Christian husband, we can walk in the way of the Lord in everything that we do. Without a Christian husband, it would be difficult to do everything that the Lord commands us. I pray that in our home, we can say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). It is important to be married to a devoted Christian and not a Christian in name only.

The ultimate goal of all is to reach heaven, and I believe that a Christian husband will help to do just that. I want a husband that I can help to encourage, and someone with whom I can share my thoughts and beliefs as a Christian. Husbands and wives who are faithful Christians experience the greatness of married love. God insures us of our happiness now and for eternity if we put the Lord first. "And he said to him, `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37).

Guardian of Truth XXXIX: 6 p. 18
March 16, 1995