Jesus’ Ministry
January 15, 2019
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you. –Isaiah 62:4-5
As I read this scripture, I realized I have a skeptical view of marriage. That skepticism comes from a lot of observation and experience. I cannot image turning over all decision making about my life to someone else. In my younger days that was my observation of the reality of marriage. I was taught that such an arrangement was biblically ordained by God.
I have a deep independent streak probably to a fault. It impacts my understanding of God. I strongly accept free will because I think God wants us to decide to love God and to decide to follow God’s guidance and accept God’s care as our decision. I have heard people talk about marriage being a 50/50 arrangement, but it is a 100/100 commitment where when sacrifices are made, they are made by choice. Marriage is modeled after our desired relationship with God. The primary difference is that in marriages either partner can on occasion fail to fulfill their full commitment resulting in the need for forgiveness and relationship renewal. In our relationship with God we on occasion experience commitment failure and must seek forgiveness and renewal, while God never fails.
This theological viewpoint also drives my stance regarding legislating morality. I do not think that making someone follow my definitions of morality helps their relationship or my relationship with God. God expects me to follow my understanding of God’s ways and adjust them as I grow in spirit and in truth. A part of that expectation is that I love my neighbor as I love myself which includes respecting their right to form their own relationship with God. Part of loving others is certainly sharing with them the importance of God’s love in my own life and encouraging them to explore knowing God and learning the wonder of God’s love.
God loves us so much God sent God’s son to model love for us and eventually sacrificed the son’s life in an expression of the depth of God’s love while still leaving the door opened for our choosing to accept God’s love.
Prayer: Thank you God for the breadth and depth of your love. Forgive us when we fall short of loving you with our lives and continuously engage with us as you help us grow in spirit and in truth. Amen.