Divorce
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:31-32
Approximately 44% of Australian marriages end in divorce. Therefore, it is statistically likely that readers of this blog have either been directly affected by divorce or are divorced themselves.
It seems impossible to me that I could do justice to the Biblical material in the space of a Blog to adequately equip readers for the radically counter-cultural nature of faith in Christ in such a complicated time.
Instead, allow me to help us wrestle with this. What do you think are adequate grounds for divorce? Do you think there should be a high bar? Or no bar at all? Why?
Jesus’ teachings are built on a foundation of a particular view of marriage that is vastly different to our cultures. In Jesus’ eyes, marriage isn’t about pleasure although Song of Songs shows that pleasure is extremely appropriate within marriage.
But at the heart of Biblical marriage is love expressed in faithfulness. That is, a man and a woman committing to love each other by remaining faithful to one another even if that is not immediately pleasurable and seeking to love one another daily by pursuing love for one another (see Ephesians 5 for the shape of that love).
What then for the abused? Or loveless marriages? What about in cases of adultery? Should they never divorce? Anyone who is suffering from abuse in their marriage should immediately separate for the sake of safety. And I think 1 Corinthians 7:15 gives some grounds for divorce in these cases. However, the question to ask in most other situations is - how do we reflect the loving faithfulness of God in our marriage even when things are not immediately pleasurable?
For Today:
Pray:
Matthew 5:31-32
Approximately 44% of Australian marriages end in divorce. Therefore, it is statistically likely that readers of this blog have either been directly affected by divorce or are divorced themselves.
It seems impossible to me that I could do justice to the Biblical material in the space of a Blog to adequately equip readers for the radically counter-cultural nature of faith in Christ in such a complicated time.
Instead, allow me to help us wrestle with this. What do you think are adequate grounds for divorce? Do you think there should be a high bar? Or no bar at all? Why?
Jesus’ teachings are built on a foundation of a particular view of marriage that is vastly different to our cultures. In Jesus’ eyes, marriage isn’t about pleasure although Song of Songs shows that pleasure is extremely appropriate within marriage.
But at the heart of Biblical marriage is love expressed in faithfulness. That is, a man and a woman committing to love each other by remaining faithful to one another even if that is not immediately pleasurable and seeking to love one another daily by pursuing love for one another (see Ephesians 5 for the shape of that love).
What then for the abused? Or loveless marriages? What about in cases of adultery? Should they never divorce? Anyone who is suffering from abuse in their marriage should immediately separate for the sake of safety. And I think 1 Corinthians 7:15 gives some grounds for divorce in these cases. However, the question to ask in most other situations is - how do we reflect the loving faithfulness of God in our marriage even when things are not immediately pleasurable?
For Today:
- How have you been affected by divorce?
- Why do you think most people get divorced? What is at the heart of it?
- How could you pursue or encourage someone else to pursue loving faithfulness in their marriage?
Pray:
- Praise the Father for His loving faithfulness to His people.
- Give thanks for Jesus who died for those who were unfaithful to Him.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others pursue loving faithfulness to one another.
Posted in Matthew
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