Divorce, part 1
I said during last week’s sermon that we were going to have to brace ourselves for a number of hard lessons in the next few weeks as we continue studying through the Gospel of Jesus according to Mark. Jesus said a lot of hard things during his ministry, but it was never out of hatred or disgust with the people around him. He shared truth—even if it was hard to hear—because he knew that truth is able to help us see God’s way more clearly than if we just try to find our own path. If Jesus didn’t love us, he could have just left us to wander around blindly in ignorant bliss. The problem, of course, is that sin only feels like bliss for a short time, and then we eventually realize that it was a lie covering the stench of death all along.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd who is always leading his sheep in paths that are for our good. God is always holy, gracious, and wise. We are imperfect people trying to be faithful and obedient servants. This morning we need to remember that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) so that we don’t end up looking around us more than we are looking inside ourselves.
We’re in Mark 10:1-12 today where Jesus teaches about divorce. His words were so surprisingly strict that in a companion account (Matthew 19:1-12), his disciples said that maybe it’s better not to marry at all. It’s a hard teaching. It’s sometimes hard to live up to the ideal to which Jesus points us. But we have to listen, look, and pray for God’s Holy Spirit to fill us with faith, endurance, and the holy characteristics (Galatians 5:22, 23) that we need to be the people God needs us to be.
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