Thirty years ago, I heard an address by Dr. Paul Popenoe, pioneer of Christian marriage counseling in the United States, who said, “The future of the family is the future of the world.” Though culture and world situations may change, the family still remains the foundations of our society. Does it still have a future?
I know that sickness is often contagious, but I believe that health is also contagious. Our purpose is not to battle disease, but to spread good health, helping good marriages to become better. Every healthy marriage is like a knot in that great net, which helps people to find Christ. Family Life Mission is at work in 16 African countries. I think of the many couples there who are witnesses that one healthy couple can change a whole village. That same is true in Europe and America.
In 1979, Walter and I made our last mission trip together. We were invited to speak at a Family Life Conference in Indonesia where 2000 Christians were gathered for one week to talk about the future of the family. It was the first time that we met followers of Islam who had become Christians. When we asked them why they had become Chrsitians, they replied, “It is because we see how the Christian families in our neighborhoods live in peace. Husbands and wives do not fight. Parents are kind to their children. We want to live like that. Walter often said, “The best landing place for the Gospel is the family and its needs.”
Roland Bainton, noted Luther scholar, says “One effect of the Reformation was to eliminate the monastery.” The home became its functional substitute where “the gentler virtues of the Sermon on the Mount” could be practiced. If monks wanted to earn their way to heaven, Luther once observed, the home would be a better place to do it: it offered more difficulties.
The “sacramental”aspect of the marriage emphasizing the lifelong relationship is at a low ebb today, Bainton observes. While romance and companionship are valid elements in a marriage, they are unstable. If the romance and common interest ceases, the marriage may also. “The wine goes out, only the water is left. Christ does not take away the vexations in marriage, but he does turn the water into wine.”
I believe the family does have a future!
-Ingrid Trobisch Youngdale
taken from correspondance March 2007
