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NASB | Ephesians 5:25 ¶ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 5:25 ¶ Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, |
Bible Question:
I am 33 years old. I am in love with a man 5 years younger than me. We have been in this relationship for the past 7 years and through every step of it, we have prayed and asked for God's will to be done. We strongly believe that God brought us together. His parents are very much against this marriage because they say there is no instance in the Bible wherein a wife is older than her husband and hence, it is not allowed biblically. Moreover there is a lot of social stigma atached to this because we live in India. His parents say that many people have warned them against the marriage; they say that their son, who is considered a role model in church, will lose his ministry, his friends, his parents, his relatives, literally everything if he goes ahead with this mariage. Please, if anybody out there knows of any instance in the Bible wherein a wife is older than her husband, please send it to me. God bless you. |
Bible Answer: Dear Ashind, Welcome to the forum. If you have struggled with this dilemma for seven years and are still looking for a legal excuse to go forward with marriage and you are aware that this union will cause great strife in the church and great lose in the man's ministry and life, then your answer is clear. Christ has not called us to foster ill will but has bought us to be one church united in Him. Although the following Scripture, mainly, has to do with food and drink, it also applies to "everything" we do in Christ. Rom 14:19-23 (CEV) "We should try to live at peace and help each other have a strong faith. Don't let your appetite destroy what God has done. All foods are fit to eat, but it is wrong to cause problems for others by what you eat. It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that causes problems for other followers of the Lord. What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God. You are fortunate, if your actions don't make you have doubts. But if you do have doubts about what you eat, you are going against your beliefs. And you know that is wrong, because anything you do against your beliefs is sin." Dear sister: God loves us all and He wants His children to live in peace with respect to all men. If, at all possible, heed the warnings of those in your social atmosphere and be an example to them with all love and by your example you may bring some into the kingdom of God. Proclaim openly your willingness to follow Christ and stand boldly for Him. Often times, a legal thing to do is not the best thing to do. the best to you, eklektos |