 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
WHY MARRIAGES ARE GOING AWRY
(used with permission by Judith Brumbaugh)
January 13, 2008
It was in the midst of a marital counseling session that the LORD “connected” His Word with a recent tragedy in Florida. Perhaps you heard on the news that there was a 70-car/truck pile-up on Interstate 4. Several people were killed and many were taken to emergency wards at hospitals. What caused all this? People lost their way because of a combination of early morning fog and smoke from a controlled burning of a field that got out of control. The blending of the two immediately, without warning it seems, TOTALLY blinded drivers. It was darker than dark and those traveling at speeds of 65 mph or more suddenly lost all sense of directions. Those stopped because they had already crashed into a vehicle in front of them knew they would or wouldn’t hear screeching brakes before another vehicle from behind would plow into them. It has been described as an unbelievable nightmare, as Hell on earth—darkness illuminated for some only by the fiery inferno of vehicles as exploding gasoline ignited them.
(Spiritual) Fog (of Deception) Paved a Route to Death
This flashback of the news media’s reporting of this terrible chain-reaction accident could be an analogy to what is happening to many marriages today. God is the creator of marriage (as recorded in Genesis 2:21-24) and has established the rules for living within the covenant “birthright” that rules over marriage. Through the miracle process encompassed in the covenant, the LORD took a rib out of Adam. From that God created Eve as a companion (“helpmeet”) for Adam. And everything was perfect—until … Adam and Eve choose to live in rebellion to God’s covenant standards. Deception came in the form of a lie from Satan who had previously rejected God’s principles and set up an alternate route for happiness—in the form of self-direction. Both Adam and Eve chose to believe that setting up their own “government” for living would give them more satisfaction than what God could provide in His Kingdom. Thus, all three of these “rebels” (Adam, Eve, and Satan) reacted in a like manner. They refused to look within themselves at their own rebellion. Instead of repenting (which is all that God wanted any of them to do), they hardened their hearts by blaming one another, and even God, for their “mutiny.” Blinded by the fog of their lust of the flesh, spiritual and physical death entered their lives.
“How,” you might ask, does this relate to the highway tragedy on I-4 in Orlando Florida? Study carefully Ephesians 5:21-33. It is here that we have a safe highway—a beautiful summary of God’s design for marriage—how we can live in unity through what He creates by His supernatural, invisible permanent joining of a man and woman in marriage as originally pictured in Adam and Eve. Sadly, however, marriage partners are choosing to establish their own standards for success in marriage, just as Adam and Eve did. They are trying to “drive” their marital relationships while blinded—blinded to the principles underlying what God designed for marriage because they either don’t know what His Word says, or they know and refuse to follow His guidelines. This has created many tragic “crashes”—divorces that seem almost unstoppable.
To make matters even worse, the government has come in to try to fix spiritually based marital discord with its own form of “controlled burn” known as No-fault Divorce, which it designed as a fix for what it considered to be dead relationships. The government may have intended one thing, but its “controlled burn” has gotten out of control with the result being a blinding fog so thick that few are able to avoid fatally crashing their marriage relationships. Spouses are deceived into thinking that the answer to hurting relationships is the government’s easy way out through No-fault Divorce instead of God’s remedy of reconciliation.
May we do with marriage what the officials involved in the I-4 chain-reaction tragedy failed to do on the interstate: block the road to stop cars from driving into the blinding fog. This can only be done by helping those in wounded relationships to call out to God instead of to attorneys and the judicial system. We need a mass exodus from the No-fault Divorce highway that leads to fractured family relationships and life-long injuries. We need emergency vehicles to rush in with transfusions of God’s Word in order to rehabilitate marriages by teaching couples how to adapt Biblical principles for marriage that can transform wounded relationships into ones of joy, peace, and blessings.
If your marriage isn’t working, if there is conflict, lack of communication, anger, bitterness and strife, start by focusing on the section of Ephesians 5 below. Pray and fast. Please let us know if we can pray and/or counsel with you and your spouse.
God’s Marriage Manual21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:21-22
|
In Christ’s Service,
Judith Brumbaugh, President, Founder;
Restoration of the Family, Inc.
PO Box 621342 Oviedo FL 32762-1342
www.RestorationOfTheFamily.org
RFI is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. Donations may be deducted as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.