The Bride of Christ

I'm thoroughly convinced at this point that I know at least one of the reasons that Christ never married. After all, it's not as if his wife and children would have been any worse off than every other widow and orphan. Plenty of men die in the prime of their lives and leave behind families, and their families survive.

And up to the time He was thirty He worked for a living, we would imagine. Being God Incarnate and all, I’m sure He would have had the foresight to plan ahead for His family, since presumably He knew what was coming. Although, I must admit, that handing off his mom to one of the disciples looked kinda like a last minute save to me.

When He went off on His ministry He wouldn't have been any different than many men who followed Him and left families behind. So I don't think that's the only reason for His not marrying. Of course, He will “marry the Church”. But that’s not quite the same thing, is it?

But the fact of the matter is, if Christ had married, his wife could very well have been unhappy. Would it be because he isn't perfect? To misquote Paul, “God forbid.”

It's because her expectations may not have been realistic. Or maybe she would have been in love with someone else earlier, and the person you live with can never match the fantasy of the person that got away. It's so easy to think "if only" whenever there is a rough spot in the road.

I don't think another book added to the Bible with some woman's complaints about Christ's failings as a husband and father would have really added much to the gospel message, do you?