Marriage

This has always been a hot topic, but it has been a hot topic within my family lately because the woman's bible studies in our church have been consistently talking about it for 3 weeks. It wasn't something that they planned, but once one of our "church leaders" decided to get divorced, all Sheol broke loose... :) - Sheol :)

Within this Bible Study group, they have:

1. One woman that was a Christian and got married to a non-Christian
2. Another that was a Christian at the time that she started living with a non-Christian man and then had 2 kids with this same man
3. Another that is getting divorced
4. Another that also got married to a non-Christian man and is now married to him with four kids
5. A divorced woman
6. A young girl that is a Christian but dating/wanting to date a non-Christian guy (the jury is still out on this one)
7. A girl whose parents are devorced and the dad remarried
8. A new Christian who has kids outside of wedlock (This is the case with just about all of our church members - - literally)
9. My mom
10. Another church leader that co-leads the Bible Study with my mom
11. And I know that I am missing some more people but I can't think of them right now

Regarless, this issue is a hot topic for our WHOLE church.

Well, it has been 3 weeks since this Woman's Bible Study has been talking about the same thing, but with all the dicussion going on between them, and then between our family (Cause my family ALL talk and discuss church issues). However, I am not going to comment more on the Woman's Bible Study because that was just for context. However, here are some of my thoughts.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE God and His mandates and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I don't have both the gift of Mercy AND the gift of Prophesy at the same time. It's really hard to stad up for God's Truth and Word AND be allow a gift of Mercy to reign as well. I'm not gonna get into that either, but I like the fact that I can be black and white about the word of God. To me, when it comes to God and what He desires, it's either you do it or you don't; you either follow God or you follow people. You either please God or you please people. You either do it the narrow way or the lax way.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 7:10-14, and I am going to let you read it so that it is not I that speak, but the LORD Himself:

10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how Paul says it. This is what I see. Paul was writing letters to churches and people like to use this to accomodate the Word to their own desires. Please have said that the Bible has to be read in the context of the days that it was written (which I agree) . But, they use this to say that some meaning - - MEANINGS - - of the Bible are irrelevant to today. My heart falls with sadness when I hear this. Anyway, I LOVE that Paul here makes it SOOOOO clear that it is the LORD speaking. I mean, even if this is a letter to a church, which it is, and even if this letter is regarded to as irrelevant to the people of today, there is NO WAY that ANYONE can or should say that when the Apostle Paul, chosen by God to take the Gospel to the nations (Acts 9:15), writes "(not I, but the Lord)" 1 Cor. 7:10, it is not of the LORD!!! C'MON!! REALLY!?!? People have the AUDACITY to say that!??! not me.....

There is so much more in these verses, but that's all I want to say about that for now... I have more thoughts though :)

Also, about marriage and the marriage covenant:
When a man and a woman enter into the covenant that God has created, I believe that they enter into this covenant with God. And, a covenant, as seen in the Old and New Testament, but especially in cotext of the time that it was created, is between parties; most of the time two parties. A covenant also has a close parallel with a contract, and a contract usually needs witnesses that sign saying that they were there and were witnesses to the people going into that contract. We do that now, when people sign the marriage certificate. You have the judge or appointed person representing the law that binds the two people, you have the husband and wife, and it is required that you have witnesses there as well.

I also believe that when you look at the context of how marriage worked in Israel, we get a good insight as to how people regarded the marriage covenant. If you read about marriages and weddings in Jesus' time, you will see that the whole town/area was invited to the wedding and most of them participated, that is why it took a week or so to complete the wedding. It was also a time of rejoicing among other things, but I want to concentrate on 'who' participated.

So, I see that that the whole town was not only invited to the wedding, but that they whole town was invited to the marriage covenant. I will stop using the word town now, and start using the word community, because back then, the town was a community of people that knew community in a much closer way than the way that the U.S. sees community within their towns. (That's a whole can of worms, but I think that in my context and experience contrasting Argentina and the Central Coast, Argentina as a whole does a lot better in being a community, but that's just my experience). Anyways, again, I this whole communtiy was invited to participate in the marriage covenant. We just need to look at the concequences of divorce or infidelity on either part and you quickly will see that the whole community was involved in the punishment that was in most cases stoning to death.

So, in the same way, I think that a marriage covenant is not only made between a husband, wife, and the LORD, but also includes the witnesses, i.e. the community. So, when two people are getting married, if I am sitting in the crowd, in the community, I need to realize that I am entering int othe marriage covenant as part of the community. And that when that couple is going through easy or hard things, that I am supposed to be in communtiy with them at some level. I toldsomeone that I wouldn't go to any weddings between an unevenly yoked couple or between a couple in which one or both have been previously divorced because I didn't want to enter into that covenant since I didn't agree with it. However, as I sit here writing this, I wonder if God even honors that covenant, I wonder if God is there but withholds His presence and blessings from this couple. I wonder if me being there merely could mean that I am like God, there but not accepting it or blessings it. Although, a wedding is supposed to be a celebration of the gift of the covenant and I think that anything that falls short of that by going against what the LORD requires is a perversion of this blessings. We human beings do that SO MCUH... pervert something that the LORD has created. So I would mostdefinitely not be celebrating anything if two people wish to be joined together in a marriage or union that to me clearly goes against the will of God. So can I be at a wedding or union (and I say union because a wedding me me signifies that the covenant is there and I don't want to continue to say wedding when to me it isn't) and not be spiritually or physically or mentally rejoicing an dcelebrating? What does God do? What should I do?

One request: if you decide to comment on this blog, please don't give me a response to these questions if you have not carefully read the whole blog and then thought about it before wriiting. It's kind of insulting that you would skim my blog and then respond without thinking. But please please please respond if you would like. I am just attempting to get people to think and converse with me in an informed manner.

Well, that's where I stand. Sometimes I think that a simple blog for me will turn into a book at some point in my life because I leave so much stuff off in the interest time: yours and mine. Well, another long blog, another unanswered question, another thing to think about.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE thinking about God and what He wants and then standing firm for what I believe His heart is!!!!

cause.....

*SINGING* I'VE BEEN CREATED TO MAKE HIS NAME GLORIOUS, GLORIOUS!!!