"Marriage combines the maximum of temptation with the maximum of opportunity" - who was the originator of this truism I wonder?
The latter years of the 19th Century saw a fashionable preoccupation with death - there was a great deal of speculation concerning our demise. Probably it accompanied an involvement with a more prevalent religious belief; certainly our immediate forbears were more aware of the spiritual dimension of our existence than we are.

Today we prefer not to discuss those things that relate to our end and this has been replaced by what amounts to an obsession with that which leads to our conception - something our grandparents didn’t dwell on. Not merely practising it – (always popular), but reading, talking, hearing, writing about it. Women's magazines no longer restrict themselves to recipes and knitting patterns!

Whilst death and religion are usually seen to be associated, this 'it' seldom is – though not apparently falling into the domain of 'religion', the whole business is inextricably linked. The aim of this short article is to consider this 'it', this thing God has granted us, from the divine standpoint and thereby set it in its true perspective; 'fleshly delights' is an appropriate appellation and is close in sentiment to the open eroticism of the 'Song of Songs' which is attributed to Solomon - it is close also to what God has in mind for us.

Comfort and security is obtained through our faith in Christ and clearly, through the intimate, loving and lifelong union which marriage provides, God is offering us something that is 'worth writing home about'. The modern marriage service suggests something wonderful when it speaks of '....the joy of their bodily union'. It follows that if we fall in with God's plan, comfort and security will also be derived from what becomes a readily attainable physical event. This is its purpose. A loving husband and wife can anticipate this in turning to each other. It is giving. The Christian faith is one of giving, and it naturally follows that marriage, because it is ordained by God (Gen.2:21), will follow this pattern. Each is providing for the other's needs.

To speak of 'joy' though, smacks of the ecclesiastical - it is a biblical word, whereas Christian marriage, which is a frolicsome thing, as well as a coming together for the purpose of procreation, is 'fun' - a rather unbiblical word!
"Be fruitful and increase"(Gen. 1:28) - we don’t need a great deal of encouragement do we? God in his wisdom has created something which was bound to 'catch on' - a drive to which we could not but succumb.
"Sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from him.......Happy is he who has his quiver full of them"(Ps 127:5). Though, for some, a quiverfull might seem excessive!

So it is that our offspring are conceived of love and they grow up knowing love.
Usually condemned on moral grounds, promiscuity can be perceived as a mere clutching at straws, an answer only to a biological need, a desperate but unsatisfactory solution to an emotional problem - the difference between grazing and sitting down to a three course meal. Where an illicit relationship is fruitful, a tragic tangle of relationships might result with sad repercussions for the hapless progeny.
Sex, then, is not to be taken lightly. It is important; it is essential; it is sacred; and as such it is to be cherished, revered and retained within marriage.

Although the sexual union is deemed to be the closest one possible, it should be recognised that the spiritual union that is achievable between the individual and Christ is much closer. The term 'fellowship' seems hardly adequate to describe this, the ultimate individual relationship. Whereas the one is merely earthly, that with Jesus is heavenly.