My dear boy,
Marriage is an act of faith.
I had always wondered why God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam before he was given a woman, whom he wifed, and it was revealed to me. It is for the sole reason that marriage exists beyond the realm of the five senses, as one is not to walk by sight. Therefore, it requires faith to function. But what is faith? “It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
People change, yet there is an inclination to believe that others may, but this person will not. They will remain true despite whatever may come your way.
That faith in what can be inspires sacrifice which is captured in the age-long vow of “for better, for worse” made at the altar before God and man; it further bolsters commitment from the man and woman involved: the woman surrenders her body knowing the price it must pay in the preservation of legacy, while the man wholeheartedly accepts the obligation to put his hands on the plough of provision and protection, and never looks back for as long as he lives.
But how does faith come? It comes from what is said. Remember, faith is “the assent of the mind to the statement or proposition of another, on the ground of the manifest truth of what he utters.”
Nevertheless, note that faith is stirred up not just from what is said but from how it is said. It must be said with so much gusto and conviction; and this is not necessarily to convince the woman because true faith is born from within. It is the final form of pain and suffering tried in the fires of patience. Does not our suffering produce endurance, and endurance produce character, and character produce hope?
Moreover, it would be stupidity that shall be severely punished to overlook the character of the man making such professions. Character and faith are not oil and water. A man of faith is a man of character, in that faith is hedged in consistency. Character trumps all. R. G. Collingwood aptly captures this when he says, “The only clue to what man can do is what man has done.”
Can faith, nonetheless, be sustained without works? To suggest the same is to deny the power thereof, in that faith is the “belief that prompts to action.”
In all, the longevity of marriage is directly proportional to the amount of faith present. Little faith, though better than no faith, only lasts so long if not grown. Till the next letter, set your eyes on things eternal.
Love,
Dad.
