These are notes from John's sermon that got my attention.....conerning the mind of Jesus and the ideal marriage.
That was the case in Jesus’ day as well, and ours is vastly worse. When Jesus gave a glimpse of the magnificent view of marriage that God willed for his people, the disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry” (Matthew 19:10). In other words, Christ’s vision of the meaning of marriage was so enormously different from the disciples, they could not even imagine it to be a good thing. That such a vision could be good news was simply outside their categories.
If that was the case back then with the sober, Jewish world in which they lived, how much more will the magnificence of marriage in the mind of God seem unintelligible to the world we live in, where the main idol is self, and its main doctrine is autonomy, and its central act of worship is being entertained, and its two main shrines are the television and the cinema, and its most sacred genuflection is the uninhibited act of sexual intercourse. Such a culture will find the glory of marriage in the mind of Jesus virtually unintelligible. Jesus would very likely say to us today, when he had finished opening the mystery for us, the same thing he said in his day: “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. . . . Let the one who is able to receive this receive it” (Matthew 19:11-12).
Marriage Is the Doing of God, to the Glory of God
Last week we saw that the most fundamental thing we can say about marriage is that it is the doing of God. And the most ultimate thing we can say about marriage is that it is the display of God. The reason it is the display of God is that in Christ, God has made a new covenant with his people. In it he promises to forgive and justify and glorify all who turn to him from sin and receive Christ as the Savior and Lord and supreme Treasure of their lives. Marriage between a man and a woman was designed from the beginning to be a reflection and display of that covenant relationship.
With this in mind I have decided to strike out against any and all things that would attack my family and the idea and concept of marriage. I am now daily asking God for mercy and understanding on just how to fight this battle against the enemy of our soul. I decided that I would use the "Knight in Shining Armor" as a way to train up my sons, and I have dedicated this work to them. I have created a blog dedicated to this task and Men you are invited in....if you dare....and us help stand against one of the gravest dangers that we have facing us today. The destruction of the family. The link can be found between the pictures of my family on the right side of this post. May God bless this effort in returning "chivalry" to the forefront of our minds and I don't mean just opening car doors and saying nice things.....I mean protecting our families and keeping our word!
