Free The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love by Tim Lahaye Page A

long until our dream really comes true—many Christian newlyweds exchanging virtue rings on their wedding night. In anticipation of that, a beautiful senior student at a Christian high school where I spoke showed me her ring with pride and volunteered a new dimension: “I plan to pass this virtue ring on to my daughter someday!”

Learning by Doing
     
    An in-depth study of sex is best pursued just prior to marriage. Let’s face it—the material is simply not that complicated. God didn’t give Adam and Eve a manual on sexual behavior; they learned by doing. We are convinced that modern Adams and Eves can do the same, provided they are unselfish enough to consider their partner’s satisfaction more than their own. A few good books on the subject studied carefully two or three weeks before marriage, a frank discussion with their family doctor, and pastoral counseling usually are adequate preparation.
    Another source of help is an honest discussion with the parent of the same sex. As parents, we enjoyed sharing our insights with two of our offspring. With both this discussion and the suggested reading, they seem to have made a beautiful adjustment. The following material includes some of the things we discussed with them about themselves and their partners. When studied by married couples or those about to be married, it proves exceedingly fascinating. When this information is considered in the light of the intended purposes of marriage—conception, pleasure, and marital communication—the reader can hardly escape the fact that God has ingeniously created human beings. No wonder the psalmist declared that we are “fearfully [awesomely] and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14). You would do well to study these next few pages carefully. Each organ is listed in the order of its reproductive function, as labeled on the following diagram.

     
    Fig. 1. The male reproductive organs
     
    It is important to know the basic parts of your reproductive system and your partner’s. You should also understand their basic purpose and function.
    Scrotum or scrotal sac —the small sac, containing the testicles, that hangs between a man’s legs.
    Testicles —the sensitive, egg-shaped, sperm-producing organs that hang in the scrotal sac. They are the size and shape of a large nut, approximately 1-1/2 inches long; contain a long tube approximately one one-thousandth of an inch in diameter and about one thousand feet long; and are able to produce 500 million sperm every day. Usually the left testicle hangs lower than the right, but this should cause no alarm—it is quite natural. Sometimes only one testicle drops even after puberty. This is no cause for concern sexually, since a healthy male can be virile with only one functioning testicle. Surgery or treatment with certain hormones can correct the problem. A higher rate of tumors appears in undescended testicles, however, and it is advisable that a boy having this condition be checked by a doctor before age ten for early detection of any difficulty.
    Sperm or spermatozoa —the male seed, manufactured in the testicles, that fertilizes the female egg. This seed contains the genetic information that ultimately determines a baby’s sex. In sexual intercourse it is ejected through the penis into the female’s vagina. The cells measure about one six-hundredth of an inch from head to tail.
    Epididymis —the little channel in the scrotal sac where sperm manufactured in the testicles undergo a maturing process.
    Spermatic duct (vas deferens)—the duct from the epididymis that carries the sperm into the ampulla chamber. In a vasectomy for sterilization of the husband, a one-inch section of each vas deferens is removed. This surgery can usually be performed under a local anesthetic in a doctor’s office and incapacitates a man for perhaps one or two days. The operation will in no way affect his sex life—it merely stops the sperm from entering the penis.
    Ampulla chamber —the storage chamber