The End of Marriage

Bible reading for Tuesday, April 19, 2011: Luke 20

Luke 20 consists of three attempts by the “bad guys” to trick Jesus into saying something heretical. Even lifelong Christians are troubled by his statement in vv. 34-36:

“The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.”

In short, Jesus is saying that marriage is temporary, “till death do us part” means that we really will part at death. Perhaps on a bad day that doesn’t sound so bad, but for the most part we can’t understand why God would break up a holy union. But that’s just the thing, he isn’t breaking it up, he is transforming it to its higher purpose.

Here is one way to look at it: Lord willing, I will have the honor of giving my beautiful daughters away in marriage to godly, worthy men. At that point our relationship will irrevocably change, “for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Gen 2:24). I will always be their daddy, but it will be different. The purpose of godly parenting is to give away, to prepare them for the rest of their lives.

In marriage we are preparing each other for Heaven, “God did not give us marriage to make us happy, but to make us holy” (Gary Thomas). But it is not as if we will lose our spouses in Heaven any more than I will lose my daughters at their wedding. It will be different, but better. In fact, I am confident that we will be closer and more in love with our spouses in Heaven. Imagine, knowing your husband or wife without the barriers of sin, selfishness, and miscommunication. The biggest difference will be that we can have this depth of love for the entire population of Heaven, not just one person.

Yes, I know the whole sex thing makes this seem a little weird; I am not suggesting that Heaven will be a huge free-love fest. But sex itself is temporary, a shadow of a greater joy. Am I now saying Heaven will be sexless? No, it will be above and beyond sex to an extent that it will not be missed. Here is how C. S. Lewis explained it:

“I think our present outlook [of  Heaven without sex per se] might be like that of a small boy who, on being told that the sexual act was the highest bodily pleasure, should immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same time. On receiving the answer ‘No,’ he might regard absence of chocolates as the chief characteristic of sexuality. In vain you would tell him that the reason why lovers in their carnal raptures don’t bother about chocolates is that they have something better to think of.”