Jesus upholds the revelation that God the Father ordained marriage to be a life-long commitment between a husband and a wife. “A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh...what God has joined together, let man not separate”.
The sacrament of marriage is an action of God done by His children in faith. The promises made between a husband and a wife are not just legally binding, but in the sacrament of marriage there is a spiritual binding that happens as well. It has been described by some as a “soul tie”. It is also seen as a covenant relationship made not just between two individuals, but also includes the Lord of All.
Culturally, it has been customary that many people marry in the church, but it is questionable whether most enter into marriage understanding or believing it to be sacramental or that they are making the promises to the Lord and not just before the Lord.
In Jesus' day, like our own, the nature of marriage was being debated. Liberal Jewish teachers had found ways of justifying divorce under almost any circumstance. Jesus, however, corrected this wrong teaching by instructing that adultery is the only reason for divorce given by Moses. Contemporary minds may presume this is because of the relational mistrust and pain unfaithfulness creates, but in a patriarchal culture it was more a justice issue. In this ancient culture men were the sole providers and procreation was the primary function of sexual intimacy. Thus with each sexual act there was a real chance of conception. Acts of unfaithfulness would then place an undo burden on the sole provider who would be unfairly forced to carry the weight of responsibility for providing for a child he may not have fathered.
Jesus emphasized that it was because their “hearts were hard” that even this exception was given. God's intent is that there be no divorce. I wonder if the hardness of heart was not just people's ignoring their internal conscience in order to enter into a few moments of emotional or sexual pleasure, but that a much deeper problem existed in that their hearts were hardened toward God Himself. Without God's revelation in Christ, people then and now cannot understand the things of God, like the nature of marriage. They do not understand that when they marry and enter into sexual intimacy they are knit together spiritually in ways their mind cannot fully comprehend. They do not understand that when they may be tempted to give up on their earthly relationship, that they are still bound to the heavenly promise they made before the Creator. They may not understand that the undertaking of marriage was designed by the Father to be the backbone of a strong and healthy social order and that in treating it lightly or irreverently undermines the wider community. Hard hearts cannot perceive Kingdom Values.
In a post-Christian culture, which is increasingly self-centered, violent and unfaithful, we should not expect anything other than a rise in the divorce rate and the demise of the institution of marriage. However, in the faith community, where people enter into marriage as a sacramental covenant, we should expect the demise of divorce. Between two believers divorce is never an option. May the church find herself once again standing counter-culture to a world which is walking into the darkness of heartache, pain and social chaos as it abandons God's sacrament of Marriage.
The good news for the divorced is that divorce is not the “unforgivable sin”. Forgiveness in Christ allows us to start anew. People enter into marriage spiritually ignorant, or unequally yoked and the unbelievers may walk away from marriage. Paul taught that the believer is to stay in the relationship, praying for conversion of their spouse and a change of heart. If the marriage is physically or emotionally abusive, get out of the house until there are signs of repentance. If divorced and one is led to remarry, know that the Lord would not have you marry a person who is not fully converted to Jesus and understands that divorce is not an option.
The hope for the resurgence of traditional marriage and the demise of divorce lies in the conversion of men and women one heart at a time.
Would that the world would read this!! Thanks
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