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."
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."
That's pretty heavy. God obviously takes marriage VERY seriously, and I understand that. But I wonder how often people consider this before they wed. I have read this passage dozens of times, but I never had really thought about the gravity of staying married. And I had not thought about how incredibly difficult it must be to DO that - to stay with the same person FOREVER.
Because...
The longest I've remained even friends with any one person, besides my family, is with Amber, and that's (counting middle school) just under 15 years. Yes, that's a long time (yikes! I hadn't realized it had been that long!), but the average time I'm friends with someone is more around...3 years. And, not to say anything at all bad about my roommates, because those past and present are great, but you learn things about people once you live with them that you realize you don't really like so much. And if you're married to the person, according to God, you just have to suck it up and keep living together. My point is not whether God's way is right or not - it's the fact that God's way is NOT easy.
What they disciples are getting at is true: it's TOUGH. And what Jesus replies is so correct: not everyone can accept it because it's so tough. It really made me think - can I?
Forever is a LONG time.
1 comment:
The funny thing about love and marriage is that when you find the right person forever seems like a blessing and not a burden : ) You'll know when you find him, or - when he finds you!!
Post a Comment