Thursday, October 02, 2014
Can you love God and still get a divorce
Can I love God and still end up divorced.
Yes you can.
I know many faithful Christians who did everything they could to save their marriage and could not.
Healthy marriages make it because there are three in the marriage: Husband, wife, and God.
God can do amazing things to heal broken marriages.
But only if you both want him to... and there is the problem.
You may want to save your marriage, but you cannot control your mate. If your mate decides not to follow Jesus in your marriage, then you may not be able to stop the divorce.
And let me be clear here. I do not believe that faithful is interpreted as perfect. Passionate, committed Christians who are radically sold out for Jesus are not perfect. But they are faithful to God. They try to live more like Jesus. They repent when they are not. They follow Jesus.
So I am not talking about perfect mates. Marsha and I frequently tell couples in trouble that we do not believe in no-fault problems in marriage. There was only one perfect person on this earth and he never married. And it is not either one of them.
But as much as you may love God, and as much as you may try to follow Jesus... you cannot force your mate to do the same. It is tragic, it is heartbreaking, it is painful. Life will never be the same for the Christian whose marriage dies. But God will see you thru. Like he does in every other tragic circumstance in this fallen world.
If your mate chooses someone else and will not repent, you can divorce them. Jesus even said you can remarry.
But when your mate gives up on Jesus, gives up on you, and gives up on your marriage... then you cannot prevent divorce.
Stay faithful, keep loving God, pray your mate repents, go on with your life, serve others.
Just like the rest of us.
Yes you can.
I know many faithful Christians who did everything they could to save their marriage and could not.
Healthy marriages make it because there are three in the marriage: Husband, wife, and God.
God can do amazing things to heal broken marriages.
But only if you both want him to... and there is the problem.
You may want to save your marriage, but you cannot control your mate. If your mate decides not to follow Jesus in your marriage, then you may not be able to stop the divorce.
And let me be clear here. I do not believe that faithful is interpreted as perfect. Passionate, committed Christians who are radically sold out for Jesus are not perfect. But they are faithful to God. They try to live more like Jesus. They repent when they are not. They follow Jesus.
So I am not talking about perfect mates. Marsha and I frequently tell couples in trouble that we do not believe in no-fault problems in marriage. There was only one perfect person on this earth and he never married. And it is not either one of them.
But as much as you may love God, and as much as you may try to follow Jesus... you cannot force your mate to do the same. It is tragic, it is heartbreaking, it is painful. Life will never be the same for the Christian whose marriage dies. But God will see you thru. Like he does in every other tragic circumstance in this fallen world.
If your mate chooses someone else and will not repent, you can divorce them. Jesus even said you can remarry.
But when your mate gives up on Jesus, gives up on you, and gives up on your marriage... then you cannot prevent divorce.
Stay faithful, keep loving God, pray your mate repents, go on with your life, serve others.
Just like the rest of us.
