Testing For Marriage? Or For Divorce?

I suspect all of us have family, friends or co-workers who are living together with the intent of one day getting married.  All of those that I listen to tell me that they approach this arrangement as a “test marriage” – a way to see if they have what it takes to make a lifelong commitment.  As it turns out, research is piling up evidence that co-habitating is more like a “test divorce.”  It is an arrangement that sets in play patterns of relationship and behavior that dramatically reduce the probability of being married for ten years into the future.

Jared Wilson is a favorite Gospel blogger of mine.  His recent post entitled “10 Things Young Singles in Romantic Relationship Ought to Know” is right on target. 

Choose Life

I was a Senior in High School when Roe v. Wade became  the legal framework for abortion in the United States.  It was not until my Senior year of college - while at a seminar on the decline of Western Civilization led by Francis Schaeffer - that I first heard a compelling analysis of the culture of death that Roe v. Wade reflected.

I have spent most of the 35 years since then as a pastor in a local church setting.  I have sat, listened and counseled with a number of women who were considering abortion, and a much larger number of women who, at some point in their lives, had decided to have an abortion.

One thing stands out as I listened to all those stories.  All of the women who decided to get an abortion did so because they felt they had no other choice.