Nothing Shall Separate Us

Since, according to Ephesians 5:32, our human marriages are a type of Christ's relationship to the church, we can see the need for permanence in our marriages. They really must be "Till death do us part." Last time, we said our doctrine of eternal security parallels this truth. Therefore, for a man to divorce his wife is to say that a believer can be separated from Christ. But that is impossible. Would Christ let that happen? Would Christ let His bride get away? NO!

You can see the tenacity of Christ in John 10:27-30, where Jesus said,

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

Christ's holds us tight in the middle of His fist so nothing can take us away. There is nothing strong enough to remove us, especially when the Father is holding onto us too. Together, they form an impenetrable barrier providing complete assurance for us. When Jesus says He gives us eternal life and we shall never perish, that is exactly what He means.

Likewise, we as husbands are responsible for providing our wives that same assurance. We will never leave them. We will never let them go. We will fight for them. Our love and our presence is permanent. It must be permanent. Does your family know that?

Jesus, of course, is our example. In Hebrews 13:5, Jesus says, "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" In Romans 8:35 it asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or the sword?" The answer is No! Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Romans 8:39 clearly states that none of those things "shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ our Lord." Nothing should separate us from our families either. NOTHING! Our love must be that permanent.

Marriage doesn't hold that lofty a position in our society anymore. Some of you can remember that, back in our parents generation, divorce was rare. It left a stigma. It carried a certain amount of shame to be divorced. You couldn't even get a divorce unless you could prove adultery on the part of your spouse. So wives would hire private investigators to lurk in the bushes outside motel windows with their cameras to get evidence for the divorce courts. There was tremendous social and economic pressure to hold onto your marriage. There was a lot of incentive to work it out and to hang in there. Sure, there were some marriages that weren't all that good back then, but they stuck it out for the kids sake - so the kids could be raised with both parents. And that was a good idea.

Today, in our age of easy divorce, people can dissolve a marriage for any reason or no reason at all. Broken homes are as common as dandelions in summer. Single parent families are becoming the new norm. Is our society better because of it? The obvious answer is, No! Are people happier? Again, the answer is, No! And our kids have suffered immensely. Won't you fight to preserve your marriage at all costs? Won't you?