Love Of A Lifetime

 

And Yahweh Elohim said: "It is not good for the human to be alone by himself.  I shall make for him a helper as his compliment.  

Genesis 2: 18, Concordant Old Testament 

I read a story the other day of an elderly man who suffered the loss of his wife of many years.  Immediately after the funeral, the man begged his children to take him to her grave-sight once again.  Once there, the old man sat in front of the tombstone as he quietly talked to his wife one last time.  On the drive home, the man's children asked their father why this visit had been so urgent.  The man wiped away a tear and said that he wanted to let her know that through his grief that he was happy.  His children were confused...happy?  How could such a loss bring happiness?  Their father explained that he was happy that his wife had passed on before him, sparing her the pain of having to deal with her husbands death.  In this time of suffering, his thoughts were once again with his wife of so many years and how he could save her from what he himself was experiencing.  The author of the piece titled it simply...true love.  While having never been married myself, I cannot speak to the pain of losing a spouse of so many years.  The closest I have come is when I lost my mother a few years back.  However, I do not equate this in the same ballpark as losing a spouse.  The relationship between a husband and wife is one of the most cherished one could experience.  Despite what we as a society have made it, marriage is still considered by many to be a sacred union.  When I speak to what we have made of this union between a man and a woman I am speaking to what modern society has done to disparage what the Lord intended for a lifetime commitment.  These days it seems that marriage is for good or better and not for better or worse.  If you are contemplating marriage, then you need to realize that rocky times will come.  There will be times when your patience is tried and your faith (if you are of the religious persuasion) is tested.  There will be times when that person whom you lovingly shared your vows with might seem like the most annoying person ever.  And did I mention the infidelity which our society has seemingly celebrated in recent decades?  Have I mentioned that the sacred bonds of marriage gave now been expanded to include man and man as well as woman and woman?  Keep in mind that this is NOT what God intended.  This is what we have made the sacred institution of marriage into.

Now He, answering, said, "Did you not read that the Maker from the beginning makes them male and female, and He said, 'On this account a man shall be leaving father and mother and shall be joined to his wife and the two shall be one flesh'?  So that no longer are they two, but one flesh.  What God, then, yokes together, let not man be separating."  They are saying to Him, "Why, then, does Moses direct to give a scroll of divorce and to dismiss her?"  Jesus is saying to them, that, Moses, in view of your hardheartedness, permits you to dismiss your wives.  Yet from the beginning it has not come to be thus.  "Now I am saying to you that whoever should be dismissing his wife (not for prostitution) and should be marrying another, is committing adultery, and he who marries her who has been dismissed, is committing adultery." 

Matthew 19: 4-9, Concordant New Testament

Not too long ago, I spoke to a few friends of mine and inquired as to what had kept them married for so many years.  One response I received stuck with me.  A good friend of mine simply replied, "Divorce was never an option."  Bold words from someone who has been through the trials and tribulations of personal relationship we have come to call marriage.  As I said, I have never ventured down that road, so I have come to rely on the advice and memories of those who have.  I have been blessed to have brothers who have cherished marriages of many years with their spouses.  Definitely good examples of what the Lord intended this union to be.  There are those who may ridicule me, call me close minded or worse due to my not so modern view of marriage.  Let me just say this, God NEVER changes.  God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Knowing this, what do you think is His position on marriage?  Is marriage between a man and a woman, as the Lord set forth?  Or, is the marriage union a union between two people who show love for each other?  What was Jesus' response when the Pharisees of His day asked Him the same question?  "Moses, in view of your HARDHEARTEDNESS, permits you to dismiss your wives."  Jesus understood, as did Moses before Him, that it was the misguided hearts of the people that subverted a union meant by God to be between a man and a woman.  You might call me close minded, but you can never say that I have never understood the Lords true meaning of marriage.  A lifetime union.  

~Scott~