Was I not close to you in the bad times,
When storms chased each other about your head?
Whose the hand in yours when death's cold knell chimes;
Whose the calming words in each peril's dread?
I raised you high over the heaving flood;
Prayed each crisis into serenity;
When life demanded its measure of blood,
Mine it was that supplied every fee!
What do you fear when I'm beckoned above,
Our warm hearth cools, and you alone can't fire?
I won't be far away from the one I love,
Nor you singly face what does two require!
Death's a friend, not a foe, from such as we;
It cements us one for eternity!
Marriage between one man and one woman was instituted by God as the key to a successful society, and it is the only kind of family that can do it, and the only kind that He approves. He created woman with a built-in ability to attract men, probably as a means of assistance to her in securing and keeping the same husband for life. Problems develop, because her attraction reaches out to all men; because of this, God expects the Christian woman to exert her will power in rejecting any and all advances made by any other man for life; and He expects her Christian husband to exert his will power in refusing to let himself be attracted to any other woman than his wife. The Holy Spirit, which is God in spiritual form, comes into each person who believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God and helps him or her to build up the will power to refuse to give in to the temptation of gratifying these natural desires. Apparently, our society is filled with people with no will power, or at least, no desire to use their will power in refusing to let themselves be drawn into extramarital sexual affairs. Nearly all women dress seductively (which is a sin); further, most cannot resist advances by men without giving subtle signals that "fan the flames" rather than putting out the fire. Men are weaker in will power than women when it involves sexual aggressiveness outside of marriage. This statement hardly needs proving to any who is even partly knowledgeable about national news. The title of this sin is lust, and it has to be the No. 1 sin for men. Again, the problem is lack of will power or lack of dedication to the Lord.
God hates sin; He hates lust; more than lust, He hates the breaking of marriage vows by Christians. A couple who is married makes vows to each other---those vows are to God. He is a witness to the covenant agreement by two Christians who marry, and if they divorce, or either has sex outside the marriage, he or she has broken his solemn oath to God. That is breaking the Commandment of taking God's name in vain. A whole warehouse full of sins accompanies marriage infidelity.
Physical attraction is not love. When a couple marries, they're not really in love; they think they are. But love is a far stronger motivation than sexual attraction; it only comes after long years of marriage. Survival through many years of all the "hickies" life can throw at a couple results in real "agape" love between a man and woman. It takes a ton of will power by both to achieve that.
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I believe God paints pictures of His perfect will with creation and His laws. Concerning divorce, I believe, of course, most of the time it brings unhealthy issues to children, but
1. People make mistakes choosing spouses and are forgiven when divorced and seek forgiveness.
2. Some marriages are violent, abusive and/or unhealthy and for the sake of the children and wife and husband, must be dissolved.
3. Sins are not weighted.
4. Marriage is an analogy of Christ and the Church (Christians) and what we are taught concerning marriage and divorce applies more directly to Christ and the Church than maybe even to our lives here on earth.
For example:
Women needed a provider in the past and would be left destitute without a husband.
The Hebrew prophets regarded Yahweh not only as the father and king of the chosen people, and thus entitled to perfect obedience and loyalty on their part, but they conceived of Him as a husband married to Israel. Isaiah, speaking to his nation, says: "For thy Maker is thy husband; Yahweh of hosts is his name" (54:5). Jeremiah too makes use of similar language in the following: "Return, O backsliding children, saith Yahweh; for I am a husband unto you" (3:14). It is perfectly natural that New Testament writers should have regarded Christ's relation to His church under the same figure. Paul in 2 Cor says: "I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (11:2)
5. The lusts you speak of are in anology the temptations of the Christians when choosing sin rather than the respect due to our Lord as His Bride.
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