PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 19
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“What God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Matthew 19:6)
The religious leaders were looking for loopholes for their marriages.
Despite their covenant promises, they saw the law as providing a way out.
The Moses Law allowed for divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).
The religious leaders were not motivated by love, but by the law.
Jesus teaches that the point of the Moses law is love (Matthew 22:36-40).
Love does not ask ‘what can I get away with’ or ‘what loopholes are there’?
Faithful love follows through on its promises, remains true!
God designed our marriage vows to be permanent.
God is faithful and true to us in love, even when we fall short.
God makes limited allowance for divorce because of human weakness.
Because sometimes divorce is love’s only option (marriage can be messy).
But we should always be motivated by love, not just what the rules allow.
In every situation we should ask, ‘what would Jesus-like love do?’
If we act on this, we will fulfill what the law intended (Romans 13:8-10).
Lord Jesus, forgive me for being more concerned about what I can get away with, than about how I can love, serve and bless others. Motivate me by Your love, knowing that this is what the Moses’s law was aiming for.