Marriage

12-14-2009
Marriage

Marriage is an amazing union of two individuals whom God has connected to serve as one. I feel extremely blessed to have Haley as my wife as she is literally my teammate in life. As we continue our study of Matthew, the religious leaders question Jesus about marriage and divorce.
Matthew 19 says the following:
“1When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"
4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
7"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
8Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
10The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
11Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

To summarize, divorce is permissible when a partner has relations with another individual outside of the marriage. Jesus does an amazing job of focusing on the positive aspects of marriage, despite the fact the religious leader were trying to do the same thing they did to John (which led to John’s death), in that they wanted Jesus to choose which school of thought he believed in. Some at the time believed you could get divorced for any reason, while the other school believed marriage was to be permanent. Instead of being opinionated about the theology of divorce, Jesus focused on the theology of marriage. Jesus even goes so far as to say some probably shouldn’t get married!

No matter where you are in your relationship with others, it’s important we understand the purpose of commitment. It’s easy to focus on the past and the “he said she said”, and we should learn from the past, but we all need to control what we can control and move forward. If you aren’t married, learn from previous relationships, so when you do find your potential spouse you can be the best partner possible. What could you have done better? What were your strengths and weaknesses in the relationship? For those of you that are married, do all you can to be the best spouse possible. Pray that God blesses your marriage, and seek solutions to any potential problems your marriage may/have encounter. Marriage is a wonderful celebration of two individuals becoming one. Stay committed to each other at all times, avoid the “grass is greener” mentality, and live your life to serve your spouse, not be served!

Application:
1. Read Matthew 19:1-12
2. Are you serving your spouse the way they desire to be served?