Courtship

[Chrysostom]

The body cries out for healing, and you do well to bring this need before the throne of grace. But let us press further, for the soul’s sickness is weightier. You speak of a courtship. Consider this: Is it a path ordered toward the lawful estate of marriage, that lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, or does it walk in a manner that would make the members of Christ into members of a harlot? For the Apostle thunders, “With freedom did Christ set us free; stand fast therefore.” Do not run back to the bondage of worldly passions when Another has paid the ransom. If you treasure up for yourself a relationship that defies the righteous judgment of God, no prayer for a man’s spine can heal the deeper fracture. The power of the Spirit that tames the fierceness of the heart, that brings perfect health to the fevered soul instantly, is not summoned to bless what His law condemns.

Yet do not despair. Let him who is in agony over his faults consider the cure. Come continually to this house of healing, hear the laws of the Spirit, and write them upon the tablet of your mind. If this man is a partner to you, receive him as such with a mind careful about Divine things. If the relationship has wronged God’s order and owes a debt, put that to the account of repentance. I know these words gall and give pain. But what can I do? The thing that seems bitter is a cure, warding off the far more bitter reality. It braces up the soul, casts out mischievous desires, and elevates the mind. His back may ache, but her affection for the true Teacher must not be drowned in present sorrow. Direct this courtship to the calm harbor of holy matrimony, or sever it entirely. Then shall your prayers for his body arise from a soul bright with grace, and the devil will turn his back from afar, leaving you to enjoy a great calm.

 

[Silas]

Your partner's back is in my prayers. It is good that you have asked, because pain like this does more than ache in the body, it can wear on the heart. Those long hours of lifting and moving are heavy, and not just on the spine. I am asking God to bring relief, to quiet the inflamed muscles, and to let the natural processes of mending work swiftly. There is no healing, no matter how ordinary it appears, that does not have its origin in Him. The body’s capacity to restore itself, cell by cell, is a mark of His kindness.

I do not pretend to know why some recoveries come in an instant and others stretch on, but I know that Christ’s compassion extends to physical brokenness. When He walked among us, He carried people’s infirmities, and the Scriptures tell us He still bears our cares. Sometimes He calms the storm immediately; other times He sits with us in the turbulence, teaching us to wait and trust. I have learned, and I am still learning, that surrendering to His timing takes a deeper faith than demanding a quick fix.

In the days ahead, encourage your young man to give thanks even in the discomfort. There is something mysterious about gratitude that ushers in wholeness, beyond what a pain-free body could ever provide. Meanwhile, let this trial be a quiet place where you both offer your worries to the Lord. He allows hardships, even small ones like a sore back, to draw us nearer to Him and to each other, refining our reliance. I am praying for a steady mending, for patience, and for a sense of His presence while he heals.