Today's Reading:O.T. - Proverbs 26
N.T. - Mark 10
Focus Verses: Mark 10:5-12
5"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. 6"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 7'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. 9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." 10When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."
Insight:
So much of what separates husbands and wives is for petty and hard-hearted reasons. God's intent for husbands and wives is to be joined together in the depths of their beings--no longer two, but one.
Response and Action:
I need to guard against self-centered, petty, hard-hearted, self-gratifying influences and attitudes that threaten oneness with my wife. To allow those things to separate us runs counter to God's will for us. Pettiness and self-centeredness are akin to adultery. I must honor my covenant with my wife, grow in my love for her, stand by my commitment to her, and defend our relationship, with God's help, from anything that would separate us.
O God, thank you for the gift of marriage. Houses and lands can be inherited or earned, but a good spouse is from the Lord! Give me the wisdom and the will to guard my relationship with her, to nurture my love for her, and to mature in service to her. Help me to be a true friend and a faithful, loving companion. Amen.
Proverbs: 26:12
"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."
Resources:
The Mystery of Marriage
by Mike Mason
