God created human beings as an outpouring of his great love. He also gave us the important task to pass on that love, and therefore to be fruitful (Gen. 1:28).
Marriage is an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman who love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together. When they also experience their love in their sexual relationship, this love can literally become ‘fruitful’ because children are conceived and born. Family life is important to children: for example, it makes them more sociable and more resilient, and it is (hopefully) the environment where they first learn about faith. Therefore, the family is sometimes called ‘the cornerstone of society’.
