Christians Are Marrying Later — How Do I Wait in Faith? // Ask Pastor John

Although some singles are delaying marriage for the wrong reasons, many are not. What does God say to those who yearn to marry but have no prospects?

Today’s question comes from a listener named Caitlin. “Pastor John, thank you for the podcast. I recently listened to Francis Chan’s response to the question ‘Why are Christian singles marrying later?’ I have been deeply impacted by the writings and teachings of Francis Chan in the past and have profound respect for him. But his reasoning that singles in the church are engaging in ****ual immorality and therefore marrying later felt dismissive for a lot of us. I cannot name a single Christian couple that is in the situation he describes and is therefore delaying marriage. His response felt like it skimmed over a topic with so much more depth to it.

“I know many godly, unmarried Christian women in particular who desire marriage, yet there seems to be so few unmarried Christian men around interested in pursuing any of them. These women fight daily for purity and joy in the Lord. This is not a fight we take lightly. So to be told that the reason we are not married is because we are engaging in **** before marriage makes us feel profoundly misunderstood and swept to the side.

“I also happen to know that the majority of these women carry moderate to large loads of student-loan debt that they are working diligently to pay off. This means the majority of our time is spent working long hours, often at multiple jobs. As you can imagine, this leaves little time for socialization. This job situation is likely going to be a reality for many of us well into our thirties. I would love to hear your response to this same question. What encouragement can you offer us single women who are pursuing the Lord with all our hearts and functioning in this world the best we can?”

EPISODE 1167 // March 5, 2018 // http://desiringgod.org/intervi....ews/christians-are-m

Related Resources:

“Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Singleness and Dating.” https://www.amazon.com/Not-Yet....-Married-Pursuit-Sin

“Why Christian Singles Are Marrying Later” by Francis Chan https://www.desiringgod.org/in....terviews/why-christi

Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes. http://desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john

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