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rl69
10-07-2016, 06:39 AM
Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.—Mark 10:9 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=6609809958&e=3dd732485b)When I was a kid, I would build models. However, I was really bad at it, because I would get glue everywhere. So when I decided to build a model as an adult, I thought I would be so much better at it. But I discovered that I was as bad as I always had been. Glue was everywhere.

Then I discovered superglue. It sounded so simple. Only a couple drops here and there would hold things together. But then I got it on my fingers, which the instructions warn against. So my thumb and index finger were stuck together for a while.

When Genesis 2:24 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://1) (KJV) uses the word "cleave" to describe the relationship between a husband and a wife, it uses a Hebrew term that speaks of adhering to or sticking together. It is to be attached by some strong tie. The verb suggests a determined action. So it is not that a husband and wife are stuck together, but they are sticking together. They are holding on to one another. There is nothing passive about it.

When we come to the New Testament use of the word, it is a term that means to cement together and stick like glue, so the two cannot be separated without serious damage to both.

This involves constant communication before marriage and during the marriage. In a poll that was taken among people who were divorced, 86 percent cited deficient communication as the number one reason for the breakup of the marriage. There was a communication breakdown.

Every marriage will have its conflicts, and couples need to learn how to resolve this. Cleaving together means putting the needs of your mate above your own. And as Ruth Graham once said, "A successful marriage is made up of two good forgivers

smoked turkey
10-07-2016, 08:12 PM
Very good post. Some very good advice here and timely too.

rl69
10-07-2016, 09:32 PM
Verry timely

Blackwater
10-09-2016, 04:51 PM
Marriage is one of the most significant decisions we make, and at best, it's awfully difficult for two folks, who get to know each other's faults and shortcomings and weaknesses, NOT to fall into nagging. If they simply exercised the advice and counsel Christ and God gave us, it'd be different. So mainly, most folks divorce simply because they don't have the good grace to follow God and Christ's instructions.

Grace, translated means, "Unearned benefit," as I think (IIRC?) was posted here recently, and is the best interpretation I've heard. Having the simple grace to give a spouse his or her reins, and let THEM learn THEMSELVES ain't easy, but it sometimes crops up even in the better marriages.

When I finally decided to bug out ahead of the storm, my wife elected to stay alone. She just couldn't bring herself emotionally to leave. I'd seen two typhoons, and knew what may be headed our way, and in my health, knew full well that the best thing for me was to leave. She finally tried to shame me into staying by saying, "You mean you're going to leave me here alone?" I just turned to her and said, "No. I'm offering you a chance to leave with me, and if you don't take it, that's YOUR decision, and it's YOU who's determined to stay here alone."

On my return, she DID say that if another storm ever comes this way, she's going with me next time. I couldn't stay, and she just wouldn't leave, so ..... I just left and let her learn the hard way. We were very lucky it wasn't any worse than it was, and thankfully, she learned a great lesson in contrariness.

If folks HAVE to "pee on the electric fence' to learn, then sometimes, it's best to let them learn THEIR way, even though risk may be involved in it, inherently. She worked 30 years in our liberal education field, and absorbed some things from that, that aren't really conducive to dealing with realities sometimes. It's one of the hardest things for us to do, but if we let our spouses learn THEIR way, it sometimes, if not often, leads to a closer union and better mutual understanding. She's just beginning to understand how lightly we really were hit here, compared to what so many others have experienced.

It was VERY difficult to do what I knew I needed and had to do, but with prayers for all I left behind, it's worked out about as well as it could have here. God help us all have better marriages. Our nation is built one family at a time, and what our families do determines the success or failure of our nation, and our world. It's the foundation of all that mankind does in this world, really. It all starts, and eventually ends, at home, and with family.