It's a Heart Issue

 D. L. Moody returned from a revival meeting & reported 21/2 conversions. His host asked, "2 adults & 1 child?" Moody replied, "No, 2 children, 1 adult. The children gave their whole lives. The adult only gave 1/2 a life-all he had left." The same could be said about their hearts. Kids gave whole hearts. Adults? The half they still had. For 35 yr, Betsy gave Bob a grapefruit for breakfast each day. But one day, she ran out. She keeps telling Bob how sorry she was. He smiled. "It's okay, dear. I never liked grapefruit." Bob's heart is for Betsy. He won't let anything sour their relationship. It's easy to get married. All the problems come from living together afterward. 1st come problems with each other. Later come with the children. Bob's & Betsy's marriage was always happy. Their children asked them to explain the secret. "When you make your marriage vows, forget that 'better' in 'for better or worse.' It'll never be better than the day you get married." God loves marriage, loves children, & hates divorce. That's His heart. Let's look at Mark 10:2-16. 2aSome Pharisees came & "tested" Jesus. It's a trap. 2b"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" How's that a trap? Jesus is in Herod's territory. Herod already beheaded John the Baptist for saying his marriage to Herodias was illegal. If Jesus lines up with Scripture, Herod might behead Jesus, too. And He'll alienate the people & their leaders. How? Most follow Rabbi Hillel's teaching of Dt 24:1-4. Divorce is legal if a wife displeases her husband in any way. Just write her a certificate of divorce & send her away. Burn the toast? She's gone. Only some follow Rabbi Shammai's interpretation. Divorce is legal only if she commits adultery (a capital crime). Only then can a husband write her a certificate of divorce. (And women? For both rabbis, they're stuck.) If Jesus forbids divorce, the Pharisees will tell Herod. If He OKs divorce, they'll try Him for teaching against Moses' Law. Pretty cynical! Most Pharisees say divorce is OK for any reason. How will Jesus respond? The way we should. The world often confronts us with competing world views. Liberal. Conservative. Pro/con views on abortion, capital punishment, etc. Don't engage. Instead, consult Scripture. 3"What did Moses command you?" Jesus replied. Brilliant! 4They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce & send her away." Wow! How crafty! Notice what they don't say. They say Moses permitted divorce. Not that God wants it. They know the letter of the Law! But they think divorce isn't against what God wants. They miss that it's a concession to hard human hearts. Besides, divorce isn't what God hates most. What if spouses constantly fight each other? God hates that even more than He hates divorce. He hated it more in Moses' day. He hates it now. That's why God permitted divorce in the 1st place. 5"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. All the evil we do to ourselves & each other come from hard hearts. Ever since Adam. The real issue? Not if God permits divorce. Nor the circumstances in which He permits it. Those are looking in the wrong direction Where should we look? God's original plan for marriage! 6"At creation's beginning God 'made them male & female.' In God's image, they complement each other. It takes male AND female for God's complete image. Why? God is social. He created us to be social. How do we see God's social nature ? The closest possible relationship. Eternal "marriage." The Trinity. And we're made in His image! 7'For this reason a man will leave his father & mother & be united to his wife. Father, Son, & Holy Spirit are One in eternal union. Just so, 1 man & 1 woman. 8aThe two will become one flesh.' God's union is for His eternal life. Our union, for our lives. 8bSo they are no longer two, but one. No longer building two separate lives but building one shared future. Ever notice how long-term spouses can finish each other's sentences? They're one. Who did it? 9What God has joined together, let man not separate." If a husband & wife choose to break their marriage, it's against God's expressed will. Is divorce the worst sin? Does God hate it more than anything? No! Pr 6:16-19 lists 7 things God really hates. Pride. Lying. Violence. Evil hearts. They may lead to divorce. But did divorce make the list? No! It's no worse than any other sin. And the Good News is still good news. Jesus atoned for ALL sin. God already forgave All sin. To make that ours, just confess it & ask forgiveness. If we divorced & remarried, God still loves us. And God wants to help us make this marriage reflect His love & faithfulness. With God, what matters most isn't where we've been. What matters is the direction we're headed. It isn't license. It's grace & mercy. 10Back in the house, the disciples asked Jesus to explain. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the Law's spirit. Not its letter. He raised the bar. To the disciples, Jesus' teaching on divorce also raises the bar. 11"Anyone who divorces his wife & marries another woman commits adultery against her. For Jesus, this isn't just for men. 12If she divorces her husband & marries another man, she commits adultery." Jesus doesn't condemn those already divorced & remarried. How do we know? The woman caught in the act of adultery. For all of us, there's grace. Just "go & sin no more." Same for those already divorced/remarried. "Go & sin no more." Today, Jesus is warning married couples who consider divorce. Advice for singles? I like a county marriage license office's sign. The clerk was out to lunch. The sign: "Back in an hour. Think it over." The point? God values marriage, because the family is crucial! Making a long-term marriage is hard. All couples have to resolve disagreements. E.g., how to use free time, money? Who does household chores? Physical intimacy? The extended family? And children? They compound every issue. That hasn't changed in all human history. But how we value children has changed drastically. In Jesus' day, in Greek & Roman culture children had no value. They were least in a household. Roman law gave a father absolute power over his family. Even life & death. But Jews valued children as a blessing. In our verses, Jesus elevates the value of children. 13aPeople were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them. By custom, mothers had their children touched & blessed by a distinguished rabbi after they reached 1yo. The disciples were irritated that moms got in the way of real ministry, healing & teaching. 13bThe disciples rebuked the moms. But 14aJesus saw & was angry. 14b"Let the little children come to me! He's already taught us we can ONLY enter the KoG like children: completely dependent. 14cDon't hinder them. Why? 14cThe kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Yes, little children. But also, those who enter like children. Those who know their dependence on God. 15aI tell you the truth... Listen up! 15bAnyone who won't receive the KoG like a little child will never enter it." We thought we were supposed to teach children how to be like us. Isn't Jesus saying we also need them to teach us how to be like them?! 16And he began taking the children in his arms, putting his hands on them & blessing them. One by one. Let's wrap it up. Today, we see that our world view is crucial. Especially views about marriage, children, & being like children. Scripture & our culture each point to one worldview. Our culture's world view? I am what I can do? (Children can't do much.) It's all about my growth. My happiness. Therefore, changing spouses may be necessary. Divorce may be the best thing I can do. Children, spouses, or anything else that keeps me from self-realization are a major distraction. And God's world view? We're made in His image. Male & female. Marriage is 1 man & 1 woman in a lifetime relationship. In this relationship, God intends us to show children what God is like. Marriage is the cornerstone on which God builds a family. And family is the building block of the KoG. Father, Spirit, Son, & the Son's body-all His brothers & sisters. Which worldview will we choose? It's a heart issue. It's a Heart Issue - Mark 10:2-16 Page 1 of 1