FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Truly Everlasting”

Supplies: Bible; gum and stopwatch (optional)

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What do you think of when you hear the phrase “long-lasting”?  For me, the first thing that pops into my head is gum.  Commercials and packaging always promise that I can chew for extended periods of time while still enjoying the minty, fruity, or bubble-gummy taste in my mouth.  If you have some gum, go ahead and pop a piece now.  Set a stopwatch or just watch the clock to see how long the flavor really holds out.

Of course, gum isn’t the only thing that promises long-lasting results.  Mouthwashes, deodorants, perfumes, pain meds, light bulbs, bug sprays—they all promise to hold out against the clock.  My experience is that few of them last as long as they promise, but what about you?  Do you have a favorite product that lasts as long as it claims?

What about something that’s everlasting?  Can you think of anything that makes that claim?  **Insert Jeopardy theme music**  What did you come up with?  The only products I could really think of were super glue and Gobstoppers.  Now, let’s be real: Kragle is good stuff…but it definitely loses it’s grip over time.  And I don’t care what Willy Wonka says, those candy jawbreakers WILL eventually dissolve in your mouth.  (If you thought of something else, please comment!  I’d love to know!)  It seems like the promise of “everlasting” is just a marketing ploy, just a gimmick to get people to buy their stuff.

READ

As we continue reading the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tackles this idea of everlasting as it applies to a very practical area of life.  Read Matthew 5:31-32 together.

THINK

Whoa!  Now we talked about adultery last week.  Jesus says that actions and thoughts like that are worthy of death and dismemberment, right?  He had us gouging out eyes and cutting off hands.  Now, He says people who get divorces are just like adulterers.  Yikes!  That seems like a pretty tough stance for something that’s as common as divorce.  Of course, maybe it’s that “common”-ness that He’s trying to address in the first place.

Jesus wants to make this idea perfectly clear:  God’s design for marriage is eternal.  It is everlasting.  Jesus tells the Pharisees in Mark 10:9, “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  He was talking about marriage.  We live in a world that loves exceptions to rules.  While it’s true that Jesus says there is an acceptable cause for divorce, His strong follow-up shows us that His bigger point was to remind us what God’s intention is.  He’s not looking for the legal loopholes—He’s looking for that everlasting commitment that marriages should be built upon.  

It’s easy to rush into marriage these days.  It’s a major step, but one that seems to solve problems.  Marriage gives us confidence in our relationship and promises to fill the hole in our hearts.  It takes away our guilt while making us feel complete.  It even helps us financially.  Or does it?  When we rush into marriage too quickly, we find the “long-lasting” promises fall just as short as the gum you’re chewing and so, like the gum, we look for good reasons to “spit out” our spouse.  But that’s not God’s plan!  Jesus lets us know that the marriage-divorce-repeat cycle is nothing short of adultery.

But wait!  Some of you may right now be starting to panic.  “I know someone who’s divorced,” you say.  “Someone I care about has already gotten divorced (and maybe even remarried).  What about them?”  Well, here’s the really awesome part.  Because marriage isn’t the only thing God intended to be everlasting.  His love and grace are also “forever” kinds of things.  That means that He pours out His affection for you and the people you care about.  There are many things in our past that weren’t part of God’s plan, but we were forgiven when we genuinely sought forgiveness. His redeeming love can restore righteousness in any heart that is humble and contrite. 

APPLY

How do you see marriage?  Is it an everlasting thing in your eyes, or have you started to think of it as something that has an escape clause?  Ask God to give you a “forever” view of the marriage relationship.  Talk with your family about how parents will help children take the marriage step slowly and prayerfully as adults.

If your family is one that has already been touched by divorce, find a time to talk about it together as a family.  Pray together that God would bring healing and restoration to those involved.  Pray also that God would strengthen existing marriages and make them truly everlasting.

PRAY

Father God, lay Your holy hand on our marriages.  We pray for strength in these bonds, an everlasting endurance built from Your everlasting love.  We ask for peace and restoration for those who have already been touched by divorce.  Redeem us, God!  We pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

REPLY

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