Review and Re-Center Around God

“Human rights are not optional” claims the person who designed the image to the left. Regardless of your take on it, God weighed in on the matter also:

Mark 10:5-6

They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’

There can be lots of pain and disappointment in divorce. There is often betrayal and bitterness. There can be collateral damage – lots of collateral damage. These are all sad truths. But there is another truth about divorce: It is always between two sinners. One person may be more to blame for the situation, but it always involves two sinners (not to mention other sinners drawn into it!)

In light of marriage and divorce, let’s Review, Repent, and Return to God.

Review the Week

Do you know (and accept) God’s biblical boundaries with divorce? (see Mark 10:1-9, 1 Corinthians 7:1-16)

Do you ignore or minimize them?

Have you acted wrongly toward others as a result of broken or fractured marriages?

Repent (if necessary)

Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right – let alone loving. Nor does someone else’s wrongdoing give us license to act wrongly. Repent of your wrongs in matters relating to broken or fractured marriages, including taking sides other than God’s.

Return (as necessary)

Many people treat God’s Word regarding divorce as passé. If this is true of you, it’s time to reassess your position and return to God. To quote Jesus:

Matthew 7:26-27

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Micro-Meditation Scripture

Psalm 119:169-176 (Taw, 22nd letter)

May my cry come before you, LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
May my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.
May my lips overflow with praise,
for you teach me your decrees.
May my tongue sing of your word,
for all your commands are righteous.
May your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
I long for your salvation, LORD,
and your law gives me delight.
Let me live that I may praise you,
and may your laws sustain me.
I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.

Micro-Meditation
Teaching or Command of God

Matthew 20:26-28

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”