Matthew 19:1-6.

¹ When Jesus had finished these sayings, he left Galilee and entered the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan.

² And large crowds followed him, and he healed them at that place.

³ And Pharisees approached him for the purpose of testing, so asked, “Is it proper for a man to release his wife for any reason?”

⁴ But responding, he said, “Did you not learn that the creator from the beginning designed them to be male and female together ?,

⁵ So, he said, ‘For this reason a man is going to leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they will be one flesh’

⁶ So they are no longer two individuals, but one flesh. Since God has brought this new thing together, a man should not take away its unity.”

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the marriage gift

It is hard to stay married, because we are selfish. Marriage takes hard work, and a commitment beyond that which simply seeks to meet personal needs. The Pharisees came to Jesus with a question about the divorce. Jesus turned the question around and gave these biblical scholars some biblical insight on the purpose of marriage itself.

Marriage between a man and a woman is a direct creation of God himself. It is not man-made, so it should not be man unmade. The unity expressed by a couple seeking to live life together as one is a divine activity. A broken marriage is a heresy, a human intervention in that divine process, a travesty against the divine will. Divorce finalizes the heresy, and slaps God in the face. It says, “this unity which you made is not good enough for me.” It smashes the stones of God’s covenant.

God gave me a woman 31 years ago, and she has been a blessing to me. We argue, we disagree, we get angry with each other, and then we reconcile. But she has never ceased to be a blessing to me. But even if I were to perceive her existence as a curse, it would not matter. Our marriage is God’s work, and I will not end it. In eternity, I will look back and see how that marriage was a blessing in my life, and how it was used by God to bless others. Until then, I will trust him. I will not second guess his gift.

LORD, keep us committed to each other, and faithful to the marriage gift.