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Most Christians have their marriages officiated by ordained ministers who lay hands on the newly wedded couples and bless them.
The officiating minister quotes from the Bible and preaches to the couples as well as all the guests the mind of God concerning marriage.
Even before the day comes for the couples to exchange vows and rings to be officially married, they are made to undergo several months of counselling and medical examinations or checkups to ensure that they are suitable for each other.
After all, when God decided to give a wife to Adam, He considered suitability, stressing that, “…I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18).
But should pastors be so much involved in the officiation of marriages? It appears that we Christian leaders are preoccupied with tasks we have not been divinely assigned.
It is difficult to find direct instructions from the Bible for ordained ministers to officiate weddings, perform burial services or naming ceremonies.
I am not saying, here, that it is sinful or evil for ministers to perform these tasks, but these are not what Christ Jesus calls His servants to do.
Now, do ministers really bless the marriages of Christian couples? What is the blessing and its effects? What is the difference between a Christian marriage blessed by ordained ministers and non-Christian marriages without pastoral blessings?
The scary statistics of divorce cases involving Christian marriages which were officiated and blessed by pastors throughout the world these days is worrying.
Does God refuse to answer the prayers of His ministers who are preoccupied with so much social work than the preaching of the gospel for people to repent of their sins?
There is no doubt that most weddings that are officiated by pastors involve partners who have already defiled the marriage bed for years or months by engaging in fornication.
Others refuse to faithfully resolve disagreements between them or their parents, use sinful methods to acquire resources for the ceremony and hide important personal information.
Thus, many couples receive curses instead of blessings because they begin their marital life on a sinful foundation.
Now, if the foundation of a Christian marriage is destroyed, what can the couples and the officiating ministers do?
By James Quansah
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