Hebrews 13:4-6

Hebrews 13:4-6 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

The juxtaposition of marriage, adultery, and money in the above passage reveals God's priorities for his children. Adultery violates purity in marriage. The love of money affects commitment in a relationship with God. Both actions break a sacred covenant. Both behaviors are separators, leading to destruction. If we seek another partner in bed, we violate the sanctity of the marital covenant with our partner and with God. If we lean on money as our ultimate support through life, we compromise our covenant with God that is based on faith and trust. Either action represents immorality and makes us a covenant breaker. To reject our spouse by choosing another lover than the one to whom we originally entrusted ourselves is to choose a life of infidelity and destruction. God intended for a marriage to last until death. Our fidelity to God should last forever. When we violate either relationship, we succumb to the will of the flesh, to a profane lifestyle. In the Old Testament, Israel was judged harshly for their adulterous infidelity. A duplicitous and immoral life does not please God.

We are in Christ, and God promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. He will never disown his own children. Yet, if we wander to a far land and find ourselves eating with pigs in the depths of filth, our fleshly desires and choices will lead us to death if we do not return to the Father's house like the prodigal son. If we try to live this life on our own, taking our inheritance of eternal life and squandering it, we will end up separated from God forever. Jesus' account of the prodigal tells us we can choose to go off and live our own lives. Notice, the father did not withhold the son's inheritance but readily gave it to him. The son broke off a close, dependent relationship with the father, and once he was on his own, he lived a profligate and sinful life. He chose the world rather than the father's house. We too can leave the Father's house and prostitute ourselves to the world. We can chase after other lovers such as money, position, and wealth, falling victim to the depths of sin. Although God promised never to leave us, we can leave him. Sadly, we can break a covenant. In the world, we can break the covenant of marriage and defile ourselves with another lover. We are not robots, made just to serve God and one another. We have been made in the image of God with the free will to follow and to obey him or to do what pleases our sinful nature.

My breakfast companions, I know you desire to serve God because you are reading this devotion, but you may be facing temptation or straying from your covenant relationships. God is always there for his children. In the prodigal story, the father saw the son when he was far off and ran out to meet him. Rather than making his repentant son go all the way home by himself, he met him with gladness and rejoicing in his heart. I am sure he whispered in his son's ear how much He loved him and offered his shoulder for the son to lean upon. Our Father will never forsake a son or daughter who rejects sin and turns toward home. Regardless of the mistakes or the problems in life, God will be there to strengthen you if you focus on him. You might be weak this morning in body and mind as you read this, but God is near you. Jesus said, the kingdom of God is near you. When we abide in his presence, He surrounds us and is in us through the Holy Spirit. This morning, thank Jesus for your life, thank him for your next breath. As you pick up your feet and walk each step in him, you will find peace and joy as you declare, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.