"Whats up?" Her father looked up from the morning paper his glasses perched on the tip of his nose so he could read the fine print without them.
"Can you do me a solid? I need to borrow your car tomorrow night"
"Sure. Whats the occasion?"
"Oh, just going to the movies." Her voice sounded a little too casual and her body language was a little off. After 19 years Jens father was able to read her just like the Newspaper he held in his hand.
"Going alone?" He countered with equal casualness.
The pause was pregnant.
"Look, its no big deal alright, Im going with John but Suzanne and Rick will be there too."
"Sweetheart, youre 19 years old and your mother and I expect you to make your own decisions about your life but remember; decisions have consequences. You know how I feel about you and John. Ive said it before and Ill say it again, I think youre getting too close too fast, you should..."
"But Dad, its not like we plan to have sex or anything were just having fun being together!"
"I understand that, Jennifer but when you spend so much time with one person youre bound to develop feelings for them and pretty soon youll find that your emotions could be making the decisions for you, and then things may get out of control very quickly."
"Its my life and I need to make my own decisions, right? Anyway, whats the big deal about sex before marriage anyway, I mean if two people truly love each other whats wrong with that. Isnt marriage just a formality, anyway?"
James looked at his daughter silently for a while. And like most fathers, even though he was looking at a young woman he was seeing his little girl.
"Come sweetheart, have a seat." His words drew her in as only a fathers can.
She obliged.
"Jennifer," he started slowly, "what we see on the TV and the Movies is not what marriage is supposed to be, its..."
"I know that Dad, Im not stupid you know, I can see..."
"Wait, Babes, let me finish." He pleaded gently. Jennifer rolled her eyes and sighed like all the air was let out of her but she remained silent.
"Heres what you need to know about marriage." Her father continued.
"Marriage is more than just, I love you and you love me so lets get together and have a family."
"Marriage is a Blood Covenant."
"A what??!!" Jennifer blurted, staring at her father like if his mental hard-drive had just crashed.
"On the wedding night, " he explained, "when the newlywed virgin couple consummates their marriage the blood that flows is the sign of the covenant that theyve entered into in the presence of God and the witness gathered at their wedding."
She continued staring at him in silence.
"You see, Jen marriage between a man and a woman represents the mystical union of Christ to His Church. Thats why the Church is called the Bride of Christ and in many of His parables Jesus likens Himself to a Bridegroom"
"So, that virginal blood that was shed on the wedding night will always be a sign of their marital covenant. Just like when Jesus died on the cross and He was pierced in the side with the spear, the blood that flowed over the spear is the sign of the New Covenant of salvation that Christians enjoy."
"Thats why we can use Jesus Blood as a spiritual weapon and "Plead the Blood" against the Devils works of darkness. When we plead the Blood of Jesus we remind the Enemy of the power of the Covenant we are protected by so He has no choice but to bow to the authority of that Blood and the Covenant it represents."
"In the same way, when you obey God and wait until you get married to have sex, the blood thats shed on your wedding night enforces the Marriage Covenant and acts as a form of spiritual protection against the attacks of the Devil on your marriage."
"But when you practice pre-marital sex and no blood flows when you consummate your marriage, the sign of your covenant is missing."
"God still honors your vows but theres no sign of the covenant for you to hold up against the Enemy, nothing for him to submit to and nothing you can use to remind him of the binding power of your covenant."
"When the sign of your covenant is missing it gives the devil more liberty and success in attacking and destroying your marriage."
"This doesnt mean that once youre a virgin when you get married you wont have any problems, it just means that engaging in pre-marital sex puts you at a greater disadvantage when it comes to winning the spiritual warfare for your marriage relationship."
"Wow, Pops, thats some heavy sh... stuff!" Jen stammered.
"What do you think about it?"
"Ill get back to you on that, father I need time to process." Jen pushed back the chair and stood up to leave.
Her father gave her that particular look that said, "Youve been warned, the ball is now in your court!" He opened the Newspaper and resumed reading.
Jen slowly started up the stairs as she muttered to herself, "A Blood Covenant... Wow"
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