"It is not good for man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18). These words, spoken in a world not yet under the curse of sin, sound like a contradiction. After declaring all things "very good" (Gen. 1:31), God spoke the words "not good" about man in his isolated state. Mankind was not created for autonomy, but for relationship. Man was created for woman, and woman for man. Their very bodies were made different in order to become one.
Marriage is not an afterthought. It is the crowning act of God’s creation because this great mystery was intended from the start to image the one true marriage, the marriage of Christ and His Church (Eph. 5:32). Man was created for communion with God. Marriage was instituted as an icon of that union.