Marriage is a gift. Reception of that gift is affirmed as the couple stands before God and with the witness of the people of God. The couple and the community take vows together. Marriage is not principally a bond between two people or simply a good in itself or a fulfillment of two individuals, Langford said. Marriage is the bond of two persons with God and within a community of faith.
Marriage is an expression of embodied grace.
The gift of our bodies in marriage is a spiritual act. Such claims, he added, are seen as almost ludicrous, if not impossible, by the contemporary world. These are the questions the Christian community must ask and answer. Perhaps, however, it is possible to plead for some humility. Both sides must restrain their claim to moral superiority and seek the most adequate, most compassionate and most faithful understanding.