Sunday Worship & the Word

I DON’T WANT TO DO IT, BUT HERE WE GO…

DIVORCE…what does Jesus say?

In our Focusing on the Family for the past few weeks, we have been looking at the primary passages in the Bible about marriage. But before we turn the corner and look at some passages about the family, we must look at marriage one more time.  This has to do with the dissolving of a marriage…divorce.

We may think that divorce is only an American, contemporary, western civilization problem. That is easy to think because we all have been impacted by divorce…either our own or someone close to us. And we all know how painful and traumatic it is.  Not only do marriages split up, children are torn, families become dysfunctional; but churches wonder what to do about it.

Yes, churches wonder what to do about it.
Some churches get hyperactive and condemn every divorce.  Some churches get hyperactive and celebrate every divorce.  Most churches just go silent.

I understand the “most churches just go silent” stance.
Every divorce situation is unique. We want to love both parties, but both parties have their own stories.  We want to uphold a strong biblical stance on marriage, but both parties have their own stories. So, a church will not talk about divorce because it is caught between a rock and a hard place. The rock is the church wants to love both parties and tell them, “Everything is going to be OK.  We know you are going through a hard time. You must do what you think is best for you.” The hard place is the church wants to uphold a strong biblical stance on marriage and tell them, “Divorce is a sin. Wives, you need to submit to your husbands. Husbands, you need to love your wives. Repent.”

So being caught between a rock and a hard place on divorce in the church results in silence. No preaching and teaching about divorce. No personal counseling of marriages in trouble.
No challenging of bad, status quo marriages. No intervention with affairs, drug addiction, alcoholism, and abuse.
Just silence from the church.

Well, it is time for us to hear what Jesus has to say about divorce.  And that is exactly what will happen Sunday.

Pray for me that I would be faithful to the Scriptures and pastoral to divorce situations.  Pray for divorces that you know of that the peace of God would be experienced.  And, most of all, pray for your marriage and the marriages of those you love.  Pray for the deliverance of marriages from the flesh, the world and the devil.

Let’s all listen to Jesus this week and hear (and put into practice) what he teaches about divorce.