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Mark 10:1-16<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cWhoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.\u201d<\/p>\n
These are very strong words that Jesus has spoken, and we must take them seriously. Knowing that God has created marriage and that He hates divorce, we should take Jesus\u2019 words very seriously.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t intend to enter into an argument about the exceptions to what seems to be an absolute statement by Jesus (of course, in Matthew\u2019s account He allows divorce for the cause of adultery.) What I\u2019d rather meditate on is the nature of marriage and how Christians have been treating it lately.<\/p>\n
If we begin with the understanding that marriage is a picture of the marriage between Christ and His Bride, His Holy Church, we at least have a good starting point. The kind of mutual love that is supposed to exist within marriage is that between Christ (who is pictured by the husband) and the Church (pictured by the wife). Just as Christ and the Church mysteriously become one, so a man and a woman who marry truly but mysteriously become one flesh, even when they don\u2019t act like it. It is also like the unity in<\/em> the Church that God creates but that we must work to preserve.<\/p>\n Just as importantly, a marriage mirrors the love of God Himself, for God made man in His image, male and female He made them. It is especially as man and wife, a unity in diversity, that the image of God and the love of God is made manifest in the world. There is, thus, something divine about marriage so that it takes on a sacramental character, revealing God through our bodies.<\/p>\n Knowing all this, how are we Christians doing in our marriages? The divorce rates for \u201cborn-again\u201d Christians are about the same as for the general population. How can this be? In Jesus\u2019 day, the schools of two famous rabbis had two different ways of interpreting the Law on divorce. The followers of Shammai permitted divorce only for sexual impurity, while the followers of Hillel allowed divorce for almost any reason: the wife\u2019s speaking disrespectfully of her husband\u2019s relatives in his hearing, talking to a strange man, spinning in the streets, or spoiling dinner.<\/p>\n Christians today seem to be veering more toward the school of Hillel.<\/p>\n One of the reasons for divorce is closely related to the idea of discipleship. What I mean is that we have not discipled each other to the point where we understand that marriage is a profoundly \u201cspiritual\u201d matter but also one that requires a very practical, dedicated life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n Dr. Roy Austin believes that many Christians are taught an almost magical view of marriage (and probably many other things). He puts it this way: \u201c\u2018Put God first in your marriage,\u2019 whatever that means to them, \u2018be faithful in church, be a good Christian, pray a lot, attend church, and God will work everything out for you.\u2019 Then they find out that\u2019s a lot of hogwash.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n This is related to the view I\u2019ve heard in many sermons and teachings that if you just trust God then He\u2019ll bless you with everything you want.<\/p>\n Part of the problem is that we have inherited a \u201cromantic\u201d view of marriage from the media and from our culture, and not a spiritually realistic view. The research suggests that Born-again Christians don\u2019t seem to be very different when it comes to their attitudes about marriage. Their views about what they hope to get in a marital relationship, the level of sacrifice it takes, and divorce an option often aren\u2019t very different from the world\u2019s.<\/p>\n The problem is deeper than this. How well have we discipled our children? It may seem easy to grant a divorce to a woman who ends up married to a jerk. But what about the obligation of those same young women (and men) to make a godly choice of spouses in the first place? Why is that women are so surprised when that guy who looked \u201cOh so cool\u201d but had more question marks on him than the Riddler from Batman turns out to be a jerk \u2013 or worse: unsupportive, abusive, and unfaithful?<\/p>\n The medical field is slowly waking up to the importance of preventative medicine. What about in the spiritual life? If we want less divorce, if we want to honor God by honoring marriage, then we need to teach our fellow Christians what marriage is about and how it will be a difficult place to practice being a loving disciple of Jesus Christ. We, together, need to assume that God wants marriages to remain intact, and we need to fight to keep them alive.<\/p>\n Whether married or not, whether married \u201chappily\u201d or not, God is teaching us through marriage and divorce about what it takes to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. It takes a clear understanding of what it means to follow Jesus Christ, whatever the cost to me. It takes a willingness to love, as I have been loved by God. It takes a willingness to work hard to dedicate myself to the relationships God has placed me in. And it takes a willingness to make godly choices to begin with, regardless of how I \u201cfeel\u201d about a certain person or situation.<\/p>\n The reason so many Christian marriages fail is because we have failed in the task of discipleship.<\/p>\n But when a Christian marriage \u201csucceeds,\u201d I know of no richer, more palpable picture of a life in Christ, which is to say the life of discipleship.<\/p>\n Prayer: O God, who has so consecrated the state of marriage that in it is represented the spiritual marriage and unity between Christ and His Church: bless all Christian marriages; help those who seek marriage to seek godliness in their future spouses above other things; and remind us all of the love and unity with which you have called us to live. Amen. <\/strong><\/p>\n Resolution and Point for Meditation: I resolve to use marriage and divorce as a means to spur me on to a more dedicated life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. If I am in a troubled marriage, I resolve to reflect on God\u2019s will for my life, the call to discipleship, and the call to live in love. If I am single and potentially seeking marriage, I resolve to consider what kind of person God desires me to marry. If I am \u201chappily\u201d married, I resolve to give thanks to God and to consider how I may help support others in their desire to be disciples of Jesus Christ. If I am celibate, I resolve to remember the love that is to govern all of my relationships. <\/strong><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Christine Wicker, \u201cSurvey Inspires Debate Over Why Faith Isn\u2019t a Bigger Factor in Marriage,\u201d http:\/\/www.adherents.com\/largecom\/baptist_divorce.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n