by J. R. Grover
“Just stick with the plan,” barks my basketball coach. We were up by several points against one of our high-school rivals that we faced frequently year-to-year in the playoffs, and our coach had called a timeout to make clear the defensive strategy we had to stick with if we wanted to win the game. Unfortunately, the lead slipped away as our defense committed several needless fouls, and, on the other side of the court, our offense couldn’t seal the game by hitting valuable free throws. When the game clock hit nothing but zeroes, we walked off the court, hanging our heads in frustration, disappointment, and anger. We had a plan. We had a way forward. Our coach was transparent with the plan. But we failed to deliver, and the scoreboard reflected that.
Like my coach, God has presented humanity with a plan. Not a plan for winning a high school basketball game but for building and sustaining a flourishing culture. To see the initial presentation of this blueprint, we have to rewind back to Genesis 1. In the first chapter of the Bible, we see God creating humanity in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-28). As God makes people in His image, He tasks them with at least two responsibilities: first, subdue and have dominion over creation and the animal kingdom; second, be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth. In other words, have babies. Lots of them. And as part of fulfilling these two responsibilities, God makes humans as either male or female, and he blesses one adult male and one adult female coming together for life in physical, emotional, and spiritual union, or what we refer to as “marriage” (Genesis 2:18-24). Even though the Fall of humanity into sin affects both these responsibilities of imaging God (Genesis 3), people can still participate in them though imperfectly. Consequently, a society that has people engaged in honest labor (subduing creation) and centered around strong family units (one man and one woman in a healthy marriage raising children), you will most likely find a flourishing society as it echoes the Edenic, paradisiacal state.
In addition, God has not changed his mind at all about what constitutes His original plan for marriage. Throughout Scripture, He makes clear that He treasures the monogamous, life-long, heterosexual, loving marital union (cf. Prov. 18:22; Matt. 19; 1 Cor. 7; Col. 3:18-19, et al.). In fact, He does so to such a degree that he uses His plan for human marriage as the symbol for the love of Christ to His bride, the church (Eph. 5). Ergo, God has not, is not, and will not change His mind on what constitutes true marriage, and if God isn’t changing His mind on marriage, then neither should Christians as His people.
What does this discussion on biblical marriage have to do with Charlie Kirk? Because Charlie understood and agreed with God’s plan for marriage, he staunchly stood by it even while taking a lot of heat from different corners of the culture. For example, Charlie said that it is the “God-given direction” for men to lead their wives and broader communities toward having children. On his daughter’s birthday, he made an Instagram post saying, “Teaching her to know God, alongside (my wife), is the greatest privilege. Having a family will change your life in the best ways, so get married and have kids. You won’t regret it.” And in a video with fellow Christian commentator Allie Beth Stuckey, Charlie made clear that Ephesians 5 teaches that wives are to submit to their husbands and that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. He said this as a healthy challenge to Taylor Swift and her fiancé, Travis Kelce, a remark that quickly brought strong criticism and even heated ire against him. Yet, Charlie didn’t bow to the strong yet ever-changing, capricious winds of societal trends. Why? Because he was grounded in biblical convictions.
Fellow Christians, God hasn’t changed his mind on marriage. The culture has, American presidents have, Hollywood has, and maybe even you have. But God hasn’t. Consequently, we can find inspiration in Charlie’s testimony that no matter how loud the criticism gets, it will never overshadow the perfect, loving plan God has for marriage and the family. So, lead and live by convictions rooted in Scripture, and standing for true marriage is a suitable place to start.
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