"I want to live the mystery of marriage"
2021.10.24 Mark 10:2
I would like to take the following article from Mark 10:2 as a lesson for Christians to keep in mind and live by. It is the mystery of marriage. However, how many difficulties are there in the life of a marriage? There are peaks and valleys, and sometimes even breakdowns.
However, there is no doubt that the Lord Jesus considered marriage to be very important. The Pharisees try to correct Jesus by saying that divorce is allowed in the Bible (Deuteronomy 24:1 and following). It says, "If a man takes a wife and becomes her husband, and finds anything disgraceful in her and does not like her, he shall write a letter of divorce and put it in her hand and leave his house" (Deuteronomy 24:1).
Doesn't the Lord Jesus clearly say what marriage is in response to this? The reason why Moses wrote the letter of separation and allowed the couple to be separated is because "your hearts are stubborn, so I have written this law" (verse 5). But from the beginning of creation God made man male and female, so that he might leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two would become one flesh. Therefore they are not separate, but one flesh.
These words are familiar to anyone who has been to a Christian wedding ceremony. But the original word for "united" in the verse, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife," means "to cleave to, to bind tightly.” It means that a man and a woman are bound by a strong adhesive "glue.. Furthermore, if a man and a woman who are tied together so tightly break down for some reason, the hurt they cause each other will be deep.
Lastly, I would like to note the words of the Lord Jesus. "This is what the minister officiating at the wedding proclaims at the end of the wedding ceremony. Father Tetsuro Honda faithfully translates this verse as, "What God has joined together in one yoke, let not man separate.”
In other words, marriage means to bear "one yoke" with each other, to share the pain and suffering. Forgiveness and patience are required. I married my wife (Sachiko) 43 years ago. The words I pledged at that time have become more and more of a support for me since my wife fell ill with a mental illness. No, I don't know how long we will be able to live together, but I strongly believe that I want to live up to my vow. "Do you promise to love, honor, comfort, and help her in all her health and in all her illness, and to be faithful to her as long as she lives?" I am beginning to understand the weight of this promise now that I am sick. Let us pray.