MARRIAGE OR NIGHTMARE
Following their wedding reception, a young man and his bride eagerly jumped into their vehicle. But as they pulled away, the new bride spoke up, "Honey, if you don’t mind just take me back to my apartment." "Apartment?" The startled man exclaimed. "What are you talking about? We have a plane to catch, a honeymoon to begin and a new life ahead of us."
"Oh, about that," she replied, "Our wedding was beautiful, and I’ll take your name and wear your ring, but…” “But what?” the stunned young man interjected. She continued, “To tell you the truth, I already miss my apartment, single girlfriends and other diversions. I want to get back to them. But no worries, you and I can still get together occasionally!”
The young man was speechless as she continued. “Please don’t take it personally. I love you and always will, but I also love my old life. You can understand that, can’t you? And if it will make you feel better, I’ll call you at least once a day. Okay? Okay???”
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If your reaction is, “That’s no marriage!”, you’d be right. A nightmare would be a more apt description. But before you dismiss the story as nonsense, it actually depicts some “marriages” fairly accurately.
In Romans 7 the apostle Paul uses marriage to illustrate the commitment involved when we become Christians. “You (are) married to another -- to Him who was raised from the dead” (Rom. 7:4). When we obey the gospel, we commit our lives to Christ, just as a new husband and wife commit to one another. Everything else in life must be secondary to our relationship with Jesus.
Yet some Christians have an attitude akin to the wife in the aforementioned story. Although they initially repented of their sins, confessed Jesus and were immersed for the forgiveness of their sins, they eventually returned to their former ways. Although they may occasionally read the Bible, attend church services and pray to God, they otherwise live just as they did before they obeyed the gospel.
One cannot be truly joined to the Lord and return to one's former, worldly ways. Attempting to do so is not a marriage, but a nightmare with eternal repercussions. “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning” (2 Pet. 2:20).
Christians, remain faithful to Jesus! But if you have returned to your old ways, come back to Jesus while you still can!
(Truly) Live for the Lord in 2024!
Dennis
Following their wedding reception, a young man and his bride eagerly jumped into their vehicle. But as they pulled away, the new bride spoke up, "Honey, if you don’t mind just take me back to my apartment." "Apartment?" The startled man exclaimed. "What are you talking about? We have a plane to catch, a honeymoon to begin and a new life ahead of us."
"Oh, about that," she replied, "Our wedding was beautiful, and I’ll take your name and wear your ring, but…” “But what?” the stunned young man interjected. She continued, “To tell you the truth, I already miss my apartment, single girlfriends and other diversions. I want to get back to them. But no worries, you and I can still get together occasionally!”
The young man was speechless as she continued. “Please don’t take it personally. I love you and always will, but I also love my old life. You can understand that, can’t you? And if it will make you feel better, I’ll call you at least once a day. Okay? Okay???”
************************************************************************************************
If your reaction is, “That’s no marriage!”, you’d be right. A nightmare would be a more apt description. But before you dismiss the story as nonsense, it actually depicts some “marriages” fairly accurately.
In Romans 7 the apostle Paul uses marriage to illustrate the commitment involved when we become Christians. “You (are) married to another -- to Him who was raised from the dead” (Rom. 7:4). When we obey the gospel, we commit our lives to Christ, just as a new husband and wife commit to one another. Everything else in life must be secondary to our relationship with Jesus.
Yet some Christians have an attitude akin to the wife in the aforementioned story. Although they initially repented of their sins, confessed Jesus and were immersed for the forgiveness of their sins, they eventually returned to their former ways. Although they may occasionally read the Bible, attend church services and pray to God, they otherwise live just as they did before they obeyed the gospel.
One cannot be truly joined to the Lord and return to one's former, worldly ways. Attempting to do so is not a marriage, but a nightmare with eternal repercussions. “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning” (2 Pet. 2:20).
Christians, remain faithful to Jesus! But if you have returned to your old ways, come back to Jesus while you still can!
(Truly) Live for the Lord in 2024!
Dennis
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