Wrestling in a Public Way With a Very Difficult Subject -- Jason Brown

Wrestling in a Public Way With a Very Difficult Subject -- Jason Brown

Honestly, I'm not totally sure what to blog about after the sermon on Sunday.  I thought Bill did a great job of exploring the Lord's perspective on divorce.  It's obviously easy to make people sad or mad when we speak about this publically.  There's a lot riding on a talk lilke this -- theology, passion, pain, truth, confusion, etc.  

I heard over and over that God is incredibly pro-marriage and that He is committed to staying with our marriages. I suppose his being pro-marriage is about his love for his creation and his desire to reveal his character -- in this case, his faithful, undying, unconditional love -- through the union of a husband to a wife. I heard that there's no check-list that makes divorce a must.  I heard that hard-heartedness is the real issue in divorce.  I heard that there are circumstances in which the Lord permits divorce.  I heard that there is hope and healing for all of us.  

I'd be curious to hear your comments.  I want to caution you, though, I'm not looking for sermons (we already heard one of those on Sunday) and I'm not looking for you to critique the sermon (if you do have a critique, please contact one of the elders listed in the bulletin on Sunday or come to Oasis on Thursday night).  I suppose what I'm looking for is what you learned and/or any of your personal experiences with divorce.

As always, you can feel free to share anything that the Spirit seems to be doing in your life.  We like hearing these things and enjoy celebrating!

Posted on Tue, May 19, 2009 by Jason Brown

7 comments (Add your own)

1. Ron wrote:
I was fearing this sermon. I had my 13 year old son with me. I've been divorced for about 5 years now. We were married for 15. It was a Godless marriage. Neither one of us were believers. We believed there was a God but he wasn't part of our life in any way. She wanted the divorce and I didn't fight for us to stay together. Not sure there was anything to fight for but I regret not trying now. There is a positive side to this (I wouldn't have thought so then). I was at rock bottom and I could only go up and God had his hand out. I started going to Emmanuel and gave my life to Christ 4 years ago and both of my kids did the same last year. What the sermon did do was allow my son and I to talk about what the sermon meant in relation to the divorce and what the future held. God works out all things to His glory.

Tue, May 19, 2009 @ 10:04 AM

2. da Sciple wrote:
Hey JB youre right. This is a very difficult subject - especially today. I actually have a few thoughts and wuldnt want to clog the blog. If anyone is interested it's all right here:

http://belikethebereans.blogspot.com/2009/02/saying-i-do-and.html

grace & peace,

Steve

Tue, May 19, 2009 @ 10:18 AM

3. Greg Wallace Dolmage wrote:
God is pro-marriage. I agree. It is the major way that God describes his relationship with the church. I am pretty sure that God did not enter the relationship with his mind clouded by illusions of romance and fairy tale endings. He knew it would be hard, that it would hurt, and that ultimately it would lead to the death of Jesus. I wonder how long he spent thinking, "Should I really do this? Should I commit myself to my creations? Should I forget creation and leave it all as dark, chaotic waters?"

Of course, there is no way to know the answer to this question, but I have to believe God started creating, knowing that it would be a huge cost.

We also must look at marriage in the same way. I must look at marriage, as a single man, knowing that it will cost me my life. So, the most important thing is to get this message to our children, before they are even thinking about marriage. What if Christ, rather than Disney, shaped our views on love and marriage?

Tue, May 19, 2009 @ 11:28 AM

4. da Sciple wrote:
sick post Greg

Tue, May 19, 2009 @ 1:33 PM

5. Almita wrote:
Greg, your blog was not sick as 'da Sciple' suggested. You simply forgot to relate, not only the blessings that came with Christ's decision to go ahead with His creation, but the blessings that come with a marriage that is built upon selflessly serving one another (such as love, companionship, encouragement, children, etc). Actually, your attitude concerning commitment and sacrifice in marriage would make you the answer to every mother's dream for her daughter. God bless you and help you to keep (and demonstrate with His help) this truth all through every aspect of your life.

Mon, May 25, 2009 @ 8:23 AM

6. Jason Brown wrote:
Thanks for the posts everyone. Almita, I think da Sciple used the word sick to mean "Great!" He didn't use the word sick to mean bad or not right. It's one of those words that means something a little different in the vernacular of a young person. Hopefully, it encourages you to know that you, da Sciple and Greg are all on the same page.

Peace,
Jason

Tue, May 26, 2009 @ 9:58 AM

7. Michael Asmus wrote:
Sick response Almita.

I do think it is important to remember that though marriage could cost you life it is full of blessing and rewards as I've been able to witness in the couples that exemplify a servant-mind marriage.

Wed, May 27, 2009 @ 4:50 PM

Add a New Comment

Enter the code you see below:
code
 

Comment Guidelines: No HTML is allowed. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Thanks.