/lit/ - Literature

>>22985406
By that logic no one should ever enter into a relationship because we will never be able to imitate the perfect love that Christ has. But I completely understand your sentiment. This constant but never fulfilled desire for authenticity. The ideal for married life is one where either spouse leads the other into that authenticity of living and thereby imitating Christ. First and foremost God created marriage for our salvation. This is the deeper meaning of Eve being Adam's helpmate. The marital act is a type of the embrace and authenticity that should permeate all aspects of the married life. In a sense, it's pedagogical. That is why fornication is a sin against nature. But I digress. If we strive to be married to someone who is perfect inside and out we have a misplaced desire for stasis. Stasis is a God-given desire but such a stasis can only be found in Christ. All we can do is engage in an asymptotic struggle towards Him as St Maximos says. The married life facilitates this wherein the husband and wife become co-strugglers and bear each other's infirmities. This is where love flourishes and where the meaning of marriage truly lies. If we think it to be simply a place of permanent and peaceful repose then we are idolators. This can only be found in the Kingdom where all things shall be fulfilled. The struggle therefore is finding a woman who will embark on this journey with you. They are so few these days. As Solomon says
>Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.
This is also why he has such high praise for a godly wife. They were rare even in his time. Now it's nigh impossible because we have decades of psyops and social engineering weighing against us. It's true what you say - a woman can wax lyrical about what she wants in a man but ultimately these days she now has every incentive to run away from those things. Piety is too boring. A humble life too quiet. Childrearing a denial of mammon. The depravity of modern women is not lost on me one bit. Sometimes I wish I lacked a sexual urge because it's frankly useless being unmarried. It's a constant irritant. But bearing in mind what God created marriage for, we hold out hope, even when it seems delusional, that He may give us a good wife in His time. And yes, perhaps even one who is pleased with our physical appearance.

>>22588541