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some women do not retain their maidenly charm as Mrs. Armstrong
has. Anyway, the moral is, that if I had worried around about
whether I was in love with the former girl friend, or begun
comparing Mrs. Armstrong critically with others, wondering if she
were the right one after all, I might have wound up with something
I should never have married---and ruined two lives.
BE SURE you know what love is. BE SURE you are mature,
old enough, PREPARED for the responsibilities of marriage. DON'T
ALLOW YOURSELF TO THINK OF MARRIAGE SOONER. Don't go "shopping"
for a husband or wife, and just take the best of the lot. Wait
until you know it is really LOVE. And then, once SURE, quit
shopping around, analyzing, comparing. NEVER get engaged until you
are SURE. Then BE FAITHFUL!
Jesus Christ is our REAL Example. He is ENGAGED TO MARRY
HIS CHURCH. Look at the outgoing CONCERN He has for HER (Ephesians
5:23-27). Can she DEPEND on the Bridegroom to be faithful? Will
Christ JILT her? Is He shopping for another? No He LOVES
her---with TRUE LOVE. God commands: "Husbands love your wives EVEN
AS CHRIST ALSO LOVES THE CHURCH." That is, with the SAME KIND of
love. We may BE SURE that if we are IN His Church, we may RELY on
Him to take us as His BRIDE. He will never forsake us.
Men who fail to follow that example, but prove either to
have SINNED by telling fiances they were in love with them when
they were not, or to have been UNfaithful themselves, cannot
qualify for Christ's ministry unless or until they fully repent.
MARRIAGE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS! It involves serious
RESPONSIBILITIES. Let's not take it lightly, or get involved
prematurely. It's SO MUCH MORE than the fluff-fluff of
irresponsible romance.
In Jesus' name,
Herbert W. Armstrong