Mark 10:1-12

Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” “What did Moses command you?” he replied. 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.’ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

There are many reasons for divorce because man is fatally flawed. Now I am sure that statement surprised some of you. Yes, outside of Christ, man is fatally flawed. God's purpose of peace and tranquillity for mankind has been violated in many areas. Did God plan for men to fight and war against each other? Did God plan that men would persecute each other? Did He plan that men would enslave others? Did He plan that men would torture, maim, and destroy each other. Did He plan poverty and the other evils of this life? No, that was not the way it was from the beginning. God had a garden that was peaceful and full of joy and happiness. A fallen humanity, a sinful humanity, brought discord into existence. Harmony and stability in relationships demand that humans are kind, generous, self-sacrificing, patient, peaceful, good, faithful, gentle, loving, joyful, and self-controlled--otherwise like God. Disharmony and instabililty come when humans are sexually immoral, impure, debauched, self-serving, hateful, discordant, jealous, angry, wrathful, drunken, unfaithful, out of control--not like God. Of course the latter state leads to destruction and causes divorces.

Well then, what about marriages? A marriage between two committed Christians should work out. Divorce should not be on their horizon. When we who are one in Christ commit to each other as one entity before his eyes, we should recognize the sacredness of this commitment, for in the scriptures marriage is metaphorically compared to our commitment of oneness with our Lord Jesus Christ. Consequently, we are not just committed to each other in a physical and emotional way, we are committed to each other in a spiritual and enduring way, even in God's love. If we are not bonded to each other with this kind of love, we probably won't satisfy the needs of a marriage. Love is the strongest of all bonds. Love does not require reciprocation. Infatuation and adoration may disappear, but God's enduring love will never disappear. Should we get divorced? No, Jesus says, for that was not the plan of God. God's plan was that Adam and Eve would satisfy each other's need for companionship. God's plan was that they would come before him as one, known as Adam-Eve, not as Adam and Eve. However, sin entered that garden, and Adam soon complained that it was not Adam-Eve's sin--it was the sin of the woman that you gave me. “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12)

Sin is divisive. Sin is a destroyer of relationships. Sin even hampers the relationship we have with God. Yes, if your mate is inundated with the sins of the flesh, if he or she has no purpose in life except to serve the flesh, you will probably have a difficult time staying married. From such relationships come abuse and harm, but if your mate is attempting to live for Christ, if you see a desire for spiritual growth in his or her life, you should cling to the marriage with all your heart. Divorce harms, but marriages that are founded on the nature of the world harm too. We who are Christians are spiritual beings; we are identified as God's children. As God's children we should be like him, faithful and just. When we as God's children separate for reasons that have nothing to do with the abuses of the carnal flesh, we should feel sad, for this is not what God wanted for us. But if we find a partner seeking the world, displaying the nature of the world: divisive, angry, abusive, we should part sadly, regretting the separation. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate. Let not man's despicable nature, his fallen state, separate what God planned to be good. God planned a union with two equally sinless people; sin and the nature of man has destroyed that blissful union. How sad. Today, faithfully nourish and protect what God has given you by the power of the cross of Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.