Beloved
This morning I took my usual run route through downtown. As I passed the divorce attorney office just a mile from the church, something caught my eye in the window. It was a treasure chest full of candy with a stack of coloring books and crayons next to it. I can only guess that this is for the young children who sit and wait while mom and dad legally sever their covenant bond with one another. This is probably done out of practical necessity in order to keep kids quiet and content throughout the appointment. But it struck me as desensitizing the tragic nature of divorce (whether intentional or not).
“I go to the dentist and get a goodie bag. I go to the doctor and get a sticker. I go to the divorce lawyer and get candy and crayons. This really isn’t so bad after all. I mean, Mom never lets me have candy before lunch!”
Our culture has entirely normalized the practice of no-fault divorce. Marriage is viewed as nothing more than a contractual agreement between two (or more?) consenting parties. When that relationship fails to deliver the desired satisfaction, the parties can decide they no longer consent and call it quits (for a fee of $495 plus tax). While a boy chews a Reese peanut butter cup and colors Daniel Tiger, the covenant bond of his parents is terminated. That bond was intended by God to be a source of security and joy for him. That bond was intended by God to be the soil in which he grows and flourishes. But within a few hours it will be non-existent, and no amount of chocolate can fill the void.
Of course, there are legitimate grounds for divorce – adultery, abandonment, and abuse (the three A’s) properly understood. But divorce can now be sought without any grounds at all. Why? Because marriage has been distorted and cheapened. Why? Because our culture has labored tirelessly to kill God and any traces of Him. What happens when you try to kill God, however, is that you end up killing yourself. The destructive fruit of no-fault divorce is one of a multiplicity of signs of this today.
So there you have it – my rather somber meditation as I wrapped up my morning run. But it didn’t end there for God used that to lead me to pray for my marriage and for the marriages in our church. Yes, we face great temptations from the culture to cheapen marriage, but we also have an amazing opportunity to show the world the beauty and glory of marriage as God designed it! A Spirit-filled marriage in which both husband and wife are giving themselves to one another in love until death is a picture of God’s gospel love. And against the black backdrop of a world that has emptied love of its meaning, turned sex into a commodity to be bought and sold, and redefined marriage as a contractual agreement, we have the opportunity to shine brightly for Christ as we delight in the joys of biblical marriage and persevere through the difficulties and sorrows of it.
To all the married couples in our church, I prayed for you today. And I will continue to do so because God is the only one who can make our marriages what they ought to be by making us who we ought to be.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick
