Heidelbergian Children's Catechism (age 8- 10 years)
Lord's Day 41
When a boy and a girl really love one another, they want to get married. They want to live in the same house. The couple could go to a Justice of the Peace, and he could marry them. After the ceremony, he would give them a marriage certificate, a document which says that they are married. Then they would go away for a honeymoon. When they returned, the couple would live together in the same house. People who believe in God ask the minister to marry them. He reads God’s Word, and explains what that means for a Christian husband and wife. A minister also prays that God will bless the couple. A married couple can ask God for his blessing, and pray to God for all they need in their married life together. They can also ask God to give them a baby. You cannot ask anyone but the Lord for that. The seventh commandment says that you shall not commit adultery. This commandment means that when you have married someone, you should be faithful. The government does not want husbands and wives to divorce, but they will allow divorce if a married couple really wants one. The Lord does not allow divorce even if a husband and wife really want to end their marriage. At a wedding, the husband and wife say”l do,” and they should still say”l do.” When a married couple has problems, they must ask for help. Once married, you are married. A husband and wife are married until God Himself ends lt, when one of the two dies. A boy’s body is different from a girl’s body. And a man is different from a woman. A left shoe is different from a right shoe. But together they are a pair, for they belong together. The Lord made men different from women. Together they make a pair, a couple. They belong together, and they match. Praise God that He made the bodies of boys and girls different! It is not right to make dirty jokes about it. You must not do wrong things with your body, things that you would not want your parents to know. The Lord Jesus explained that this command, too, belongs to the seventh commandment. As the catechism says, we should keep our bodies pure, for Jesus Christ should be living in us through the Holy Spirit!