Marriage: A Major Commitment

"A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord." (1 Corinth 7:39 NIV) 

Today, my husband and I celebrate the 46th anniversary of our marriage. For the first couple of decades it was pretty up and down. There were times that the only thing that kept us together was the verse from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. The only thing that kept us together was our promise "till death parts us." Marriage is not always "a piece of cake" or a "walk in the park." In fact, it can be quite difficult at times. There will be times that you will not feel "in love" or that you even love the person in any way, shape, or form. Depending on the feeling of love to keep a marriage together is not going to cut it. A genuine commitment is what will keep the marriage together and growing. A genuine commitment to love one another will help the love in a marriage grow.  

The only way to stay together is to stay together no matter what happens. I am not advocating for anyone who is in an abusive relationship to continue to be abused. There are times when two people are also so unequally yoked that they must separate or they risk destroying each other's lives. What I am advocating is that people take a serious look at who it is they are planning to marry. If you are a Christian, it would be very wise to marry a Christian. Paul reminds us in the sixth chapter of 2 Corinthians that we are not to be yoked with unbelievers. It's not a good thing for a Christian to plan to live the rest of their lives with an unbeliever. You will be tried and tested more than you can even imagine. You may even turn your back on Jesus after years of being worn down. 

And... as to this foolishness of sleeping with anyone and in some cases anything... well, that is way more than foolishness. This lifestyle will destroy your life. You will carry a piece of every person you sleep with for the rest of your days even after you finally find the person you will spend the rest of your days here on earth with. When God joined Adam and Eve they became one. When we are united with another, we become one. You may leave that person. You may move on to another. But, you will always be connected to everyone before.

It is a common misperception that we must have a piece of paper to be joined with another in the eyes of God. He sees all. He sees who you are with today and will see who you are with tomorrow. He sees who you are joining yourself to. He doesn't need the state to tell Him who is married and who is not.

Prior to the 16th century, Christian churches did not require any kind of permission from the state for a couple to be married. All that it took was the couple committing (exchanging vows) to live as man and wife and they were married in the eyes of the church. Sadly today, we have come to believe that the only commitment that is valid is the one that we agree to when we sign on the line. Marriage is way more than a written commitment. It is a commitment, for sure. It is a permanent commitment. By using the state authorization to marry, we have given ourselves an escape route. If the marriage doesn't work, we can go through the state so that our marriage is legally dissolved and we are absolved or so we think. The question we must ask ourselves is if it is really dissolved just because the state says so. When we claim that the only valid marriage is one that is authorized by the state we attempt to justify any promiscuous behavior prior to the marriage or after. We attempt to circumvent God's good plan; His will for us. 

I am also aware that there are many who would use what I have just said about not needing the state to approve our unions as an excuse to not make a commitment at all. When I hear people saying I don't believe in marriage meaning they don't believe in legal marriage, I usually also grasp that they mean that they don't want to have to go through the trouble of a legal divorce when they're done with their latest partner. Beware then of those who say they love you but are unwilling to risk making commitments.

There is a big difference between what is legal in this country and what is good and right according to scripture. If you want a good life; if you want peace in your life and you must be with someone then wait for the right person. Jumping around, trying out new partners is really only going to cause you grief. Who has time for that kind of grief? Be faithful to your spouse and be faithful to the one true God. 

May God bless your relationship with your spouse and even more importantly with Him.

God's Peace - Pr. J

What Is Our Mission?

Faithful Stewards of the Word

Pr. John Henry, Pr. Jimalee Jones, Bp Alex Malasusa

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20

I include the words of Jesus in what is known as the Great Commission in many of my sermons to remind us what the Church is really all about. Sometimes, I fear, we forget and need to be reminded.

"Back to the Future: First Century Principles for the Twenty First Century" is the theme for the Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ's annual convocation that will be held in Denver this week. The annual gathering is a time for members of LCMC from all around the globe to gather together in worship and fellowship; to exchange ideas; to lift one another up in Christ with the good news; and to reexamine our individual and corporate ideas of what Jesus calls us to and how to do.  ("Just do it!" Don't debate it! As the Spirit of Christ abides in us; he does it for us, through us. Trust him!)

The exchange of ideas; rededicating ourselves to the mission that we have been called to and exploring how this can be done locally are all well and good. But, usually putting these "good ideas" to use means that we have to take a good look at ourselves: where we have been; where we are now; and, where we are going. When we do that we will usually find areas that need a bit of changing, sometimes some hard changes.

Sadly, what I have experienced over the years is that when the ideas; when the possibilities for growth in Christ are brought back to the congregation any changes that might be good for the growth of the local church are put on the back burner. Business continues as usual with members continuing to lament their deteriorating congregations. Lutherans largely hate change and they will fight to keep it the same old, same old, even if it means putting their congregation into a state of hospice.

The church grew in amazing ways during the first century. The shepherds were not so worried about making people comfortable or making sure that their preaching did not intrude upon the private secular lives of those who were listening. They were focused on preaching the truth so that the sheep would be fed and saved. There are no new programs or new buildings or new people or new anything else that will help your congregation to grow unless those who have been chosen or called to serve have received new hearts. The church on earth has one purpose and that is to reach out to all people with the good news of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If things haven't been working well for your congregation; if mission has been put on a back burner and you are slowly (or maybe quickly) dying, maybe it's time to take a good look at what those first Christians focused on. Was it the building made of brick and mortar (there actually was none) or were they more interested in building up the Body of Christ, which is the Church?

May God help us to trust the power of His Spirit, that we might be good stewards of the Word, sharing the Good News with all people and spending less time focusing on our how we can save ourselves. We cannot save ourselves. Only God can save anyone.

God's Peace - Pr. J