“For this reason a man will leave his
father and mother and become united to his wife, and the two will
become one flesh”
Matthew 19:5 (NIV).
“I tell you that anyone who divorces his
wife, except for marital unfaithfulness...” Matthew 19:9 (NIV).
A cadre of Pharisees stood off to the
side and observed. The upstart religious phenomenon's popularity grew
with a combination of homespun tales and slick tricks. The former
carpenter turned rabbi lacked the necessary credentials for them to
take him seriously, still He possessed remarkable wisdom and insight
concerning God's laws.
In an effort to entrap Jesus, the
teachers of the Law approached Him with a question concerning
divorce. On the surface it appeared as an honest inquiry. “Is it
lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
Matthew 19:3 (NIV). They awaited His response, ready to pounce.
Surely He'd give them something to use to silence Him. What they got
was just the opposite.
With an answer more orthodox than
expected Jesus caught His opponents off guard. Quoting Genesis, He
reminded the Pharisees of God's original intent – no divorce at
all. When they married, a couple became one flesh and no one was to
severe that union. Jesus continued to correct the experts. It was
Moses, not God, who permitted divorce and only in response to their
hard-hearted condition. End of discussion; the snare set for the prey
entrapped the hunters.
I sense a deeper meaning beside the
issue of marriage and divorce; our relationship with God. The union
between a man and woman is sacred and permanent – they are one.
Like a groom, Jesus left His Father's home to pursue His bride. He
reconciled the world (the good, the bad and the ugly) to Himself
through the crucifixion and resurrection. God and man are back in
relationship and are never meant to be separated again.
Jesus stated infidelity is the only
grounds for a marital dissolution. Concerning God, everyone has the
choice to accept the reconciliation already in place. To reject Him
for any reason is akin to unfaithfulness. Jesus said we could only be
for Him or against Him. No middle ground and no neutrality; we're
either with Him or we're not. Any decision to reject God's free gift
of love and relationship will bring about the final divorce and
the right to live eternally without Him – in hell.
God's always faithful, He never walks
away from anyone. He respects us and the choices we make. If you
don't realize that right now you're in God's good graces, today is
your day! Is there any good reason preventing you from accepting
what's already yours? I hope not. God is only a prayer away. Don't
miss out on the deal of a life time.
Mary:
ReplyDeleteAs usual, you have put into words the issue that ails the world. We don't start out to be unfaithful to Jesus. We neglect to read our Bibles; we don't attend worship services as regular as we once did. We find excuses not to go; we drift away. I once heard that going to worship services was a habit that we had to develop and keep up with.