Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her." But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."Lord,
Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
your words about marriage
push against our "hardness of heart".
You raise a mirror before us,
a mirror of commitment --
"So they are no longer two but one flesh."
One unit,
knit together,
equal partners,
joined in marriage,
two unique people married
making a new entity -- a family.
And you push further.
"Those whom God has joined together,
let no one separate."
In your discussion of divorce and adultery,
you set the bar HIGH.
Marriage is commitment.
Lord,
the biggest threat to marriage
I see daily
is lack of commitment.
Lord,
what can the church do to emphasis
the work and commitment that marriage requires?
Thank you for the positive examples of marriage
you have put in my life.
Today I renew my vows to my spouse
that I made 13 years ago:
"I promise to love you and be faithful to you
as long as we both shall life."
Yes, I have.
And I will.
Today,
I will meet with a couple
who wants to become married.
Lord,
Help me speak honestly and helpfully
about the commitment,
the promises, the new life,
the sacrifices, the gifts of grace
that they will face.
Marriage is hard work
and can be one way you give grace.
It has been for me.
Thank you.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment