What is the point of marriage?

[CAMU]

I’ve recently been wondering what the point of marriage is. Obviously there’s the security, of knowing you have a “partner for life” (although we all know how often marriages end in divorce these days). Then there’s financial security and just the fact that getting married is tradition.

But with regard to religion, what is the point? Yes, you can get married in a church to prove your love to God but why must you prove your love? Surely he already knows whether or not you are in love and committed to your partner, so why the wedding ceremony?

I’m not asking this because I’m against marriage, because I’m not. I was merely wondering.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Christians recognize marriage to be a sacrament. The purpose of all of the sacraments, marriage included, is to be a conduit of grace from God enabling the recipient to get to heaven. We can say then that the “point” of marriage is heaven and eventual union with God. Everything else you mentioned is a benefit of marriage, not the purpose of marriage.

This does not mean that everyone must be married to get to heaven. It only means that those Christians who do marry can be formed by the sacrament of matrimony and the other sacraments they can receive as preparation for heaven. Those who, for whatever reason, cannot marry, have other sacraments that they can receive that will prepare them for heaven.