AN ODD MARRIAGE
Following their wedding and reception, a young man and his new bride eagerly jumped into their vehicle. But as they pulled away, the bride spoke up, "Honey, would you mind just taking me home." "Home?", the startled man exclaimed. "Don't you remember that we have a plane to catch, a honeymoon to begin and a new life ahead of us?"
"Oh, about that," she replied, "I’ll admit that the ceremony was beautiful and the reception memorable. Moreover, I’ll take your name and wear your ring, but…” “But what?” Jim interjected. She continued, “But I miss my small apartment, job, friends, and diversions. I really want to get back to them. But don’t worry; we can still get together once or twice a week.”
The young man was speechless as she continued. “Please don’t take this personally. I love you and accept you as my husband, but I also love my old life. Understand? Tell you what, if it will make you feel better, I’ll call once or twice a day. In the meantime, let’s make the most of this. Okay? Okay???”
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You may be thinking, “That’s no marriage!” And you are right. A nightmare would be a more apt description. But before you dismiss the story as fiction, it actually depicts some “spiritual” marriages.
In Romans 7 the apostle Paul uses marriage to illustrate the commitment involved when we became Christians. “You (are) married to another -- to Him who was raised from the dead” (Rom. 7:4). When we obeyed the gospel, we committed our lives to Christ, just as a new husband and wife commit to one another. Everything else is secondary.
Yet some folks that claim to be Christians have an attitude akin to the wife in the aforementioned story. Although they repented, confessed Jesus and were baptized, they eventually returned to their old ways. And although they may still attend services of the church, and pray to God when in trouble, they otherwise live as they did before they obeyed the gospel.
One cannot be truly be joined to the Lord, and hold on to one's former life. 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).
Are you married to Christ? Then remain faithful to Him, no matter what.
Jesus, always, Jesus!
Dennis
Following their wedding and reception, a young man and his new bride eagerly jumped into their vehicle. But as they pulled away, the bride spoke up, "Honey, would you mind just taking me home." "Home?", the startled man exclaimed. "Don't you remember that we have a plane to catch, a honeymoon to begin and a new life ahead of us?"
"Oh, about that," she replied, "I’ll admit that the ceremony was beautiful and the reception memorable. Moreover, I’ll take your name and wear your ring, but…” “But what?” Jim interjected. She continued, “But I miss my small apartment, job, friends, and diversions. I really want to get back to them. But don’t worry; we can still get together once or twice a week.”
The young man was speechless as she continued. “Please don’t take this personally. I love you and accept you as my husband, but I also love my old life. Understand? Tell you what, if it will make you feel better, I’ll call once or twice a day. In the meantime, let’s make the most of this. Okay? Okay???”
************************************************************************************************
You may be thinking, “That’s no marriage!” And you are right. A nightmare would be a more apt description. But before you dismiss the story as fiction, it actually depicts some “spiritual” marriages.
In Romans 7 the apostle Paul uses marriage to illustrate the commitment involved when we became Christians. “You (are) married to another -- to Him who was raised from the dead” (Rom. 7:4). When we obeyed the gospel, we committed our lives to Christ, just as a new husband and wife commit to one another. Everything else is secondary.
Yet some folks that claim to be Christians have an attitude akin to the wife in the aforementioned story. Although they repented, confessed Jesus and were baptized, they eventually returned to their old ways. And although they may still attend services of the church, and pray to God when in trouble, they otherwise live as they did before they obeyed the gospel.
One cannot be truly be joined to the Lord, and hold on to one's former life. 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).
Are you married to Christ? Then remain faithful to Him, no matter what.
Jesus, always, Jesus!
Dennis
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