"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man
sows, this he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7). "For this reason; a
man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they
shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24).
Hey Gang, do you think it is possible for what God has joined
together in one flesh can be taken apart. Mark takes this a step further
and says "and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no
longer two, but one flesh" (Mk. 10:8). Now if you believe
the Bible as the literal Word from Father God, there are a lot of "half
folks" running around out there. I wonder if that is not why there
is so much frustration and misery in our world today.
We wonder why our country is in such a mess. But do we
really have to look very far to understand why it is. There was a song
that was very popular some years ago titled "Where Have All The Flowers
Gone?” The main line of the song is in the form of a question that is very
popular in this day and age "When will they ever learn?".
I have been married to the "pearl of great price",
that God made special for me, for more than fifty-six years. I can say
with great conviction that when we met at the altar, that day so many years ago
and heard her father announce to God and the world that "You Kermit and
Jean are now husband and wife" I did not have a clue what that meant! Nor
did I have a clue what "the tie that binds" really meant.
I have been blessed to rub elbows with the Plain People, the
Amish and Old Line Mennonites for many years. There have been many times
when I wish I would have been born and raised in an Amish family.
As we drive through Amish country and see the families playing together and working
together, I yearn for the closeness that is found in their families.
In the Plain People there is nothing more important than serving
their Lord and building strong families that stick together like
glue. They take the "tie that binds' literally. Amish wedding
vows are viewed as a promise before God, taken as seriously as a baptism
vow. They know the "I do's are for life' and the lay down your life
for the brethren is cast in steel in their relationships.
When asked why there are only very infrequent divorces among the
Amish, one said, "Commitment is the key. When we say I do we mean it
and back it up with commitment to each other. We believe we literally
become one flesh and cannot be separated. We know that a happy marriage
is pleasing to God.”
He then made this profound statement, "Mulling the divorce
option in the back of the mind when things get tough in a relationship, I think
that just sucks energy away from where it could be used constructively to
strengthen a relationship.” Now that, folks, is a chunk of wisdom.
Soooo, let me close with a little ditto from Suzanne Woods
Fisher in her best-selling book Amish Values for Your Family, She
wrote of a couple who had been married for almost seventy years. When
asked what was the secret to their longevity was, mama answered, "Neither
of us died". There were many separations and divorces in my family
and I admit I entered marriage with fear and trepidation.” Perhaps some
of the commitment I saw in the Amish that I rubbed elbows in my years prior to
our marriage, penetrated my inner most being. (I drove milk truck in Amish
communities in Pennsylvania.
Blessings,
Gramps
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