It’s a Heart Issue, Part 14, Matthew 5:31-32

Matthew 5:31-32 (NKJV): ³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

We live in a time where people marry for a matter of convenience or even contractual marriages. There are many who marry with the idea that is it doesn’t work out, they can just file for a divorce and be done with. In fact, divorce has become so easy that you can even file online and be divorced quickly.

When we see what God talks about with marriage, He really did not want for us to enter into marriage lightly. His design for marriage was that we honor each other and build each other up. Basically, that our marriages would reflect our Relationship with Him. Remember what we talked about previously with adultery?

What has been interesting is that in many places throughout the world, divorce was not that easy to obtain. When someone went to file for divorce, the judge would ask if they had been to at least 6 months of marital counseling, went through a time of separation, that had to be filed in court, and have evidence that there was some work put into trying to restore the marriage. In other words, you had to work at your marriage and show that it wasn’t working.

The exception God gave to divorce was sexual immorality. Not that it was ok for this, but it was an exception. Kind of like if we choose to follow other gods, He won’t force us to follow Him, but will allow us to follow them. We ultimately have to make the choice, just like we have to make the choice of being married.

(Author’s note: If someone is in an abusive relationship, seek help. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way. There is help out there starting in your church.)

Just as we do not enter into our marriage relationships lightly, nor should Our Relationship with Jesus. We need to put work into these relationships when we choose to be part of them. We need to take time to know our spouse, as well as Our Lord. The best way to make our marriages work is to seek Jesus first and allow Him to lead us.