In It For Life

Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.

O thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died,
Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind,
There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find.

Jesus, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light
And be blest for ever with thy glory's sight.

Thomas Aquinas, Adore te Devote

Read

Matthew 5:31-32.

Think

There are few more difficult relationships to navigate than the relationship of husband/wife. And there are few more touchy subjects than divorce. We all have relatives, friends, and old classmates who have experienced divorce, if we haven't been directly affected ourselves. The last thing we want to read is Jesus tightening the rules on this one, as well.

Let's think about it this way: When God created Adam and Eve, they were married in the ideal setting. It was the world the way it was intended to be. When they went after their own way, they lost sight of God's best. They went after a counterfeit of the knowledge of God. What they assumed would make them like God only served to mar His image in their lives. They were deceived into thinking that they could be like Him without drawing closer to Him.

What does this have to do with divorce? Because we are blind to God's best for us and so often go for counterfeits, God gave us the definition of His character in the Law. What is right matches what God Himself is, or what He would do. In the area of marriage, God always keeps His oaths and commitments, so the Law communicates that to us. God's best for us is to live in committed marriage relationships, in it for life. In divorce, we violate God's best, His intended ideals, which is the definition of sin.

But, just like the other sections of this part of Jesus' sermon, the focus here is not on the Law, but on our capacity for getting it wrong. The fact that there is divorce in the world lets us know that we are not like God, that something is not quite right. It shows us our need for a Savior to get us out of our mess.

Marriage is often used in Scripture to picture God's relationship with His people. My marriage to Misha is an imperfect picture of God's commitment to us. I get it wrong so often, but God never does. Only in remaining steadfast in my love and commitment to Misha can I remotely see God's best for my life.

Pray

Ask God to give you His own steadfast love for your spouse, present or future. Pray that your marriage will be a picture, however imperfect, of His own commitment to us.

Do

If you are married, make a list of all the ways your marriage mirrors God's steadfast love for us, then talk about how you might be more like God in your marriage commitment. If you are not married, make a list of the character traits of God and how you can more closely align yourself with them.