Cohabitation seems to fit the mood of the day. Our culture tends to favor keeping our options open over long-term commitment. One could say that a healthy marriage balances good discernment on the front end and strong commitment on the back end. The primary problem morally is learning how to love and care for this stranger to whom you find yourself married. The language of suffering is largely absent our anesthetized society .
Salvation is free, but discipleship is costly.
It recognizes a calling higher than self-fulfillment, and fidelity to that calling often requires pain. But such pain serves a useful purpose. Christians can also find middle ground between unloving condemnation and tacit approval. We can speak and teach honestly about sex and marriage while at the same time extending compassion to unmarried couples. When we drop the stones of condemnation, our hands are free to support one another in living out our faithfulness to God.