Marriage Redefined?

I Corinthians 6:9-10 - Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Today, June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court rendered a decision that makes marriage between two members of the same sex legal in every state. I know some of my friends are rejoicing. I know many of you have looked and longed for this decision. Some of you may have even fought for the opportunity to seek government sanction on what you hope to be a fulfilling life-long relationship with someone you have deep attraction to and want to make a commitment with. You may have looked at couples like Keira and I with envy or even vindictiveness that we could have what you could not, and you see today’s decision as justice.

Yet, at its core, this issue goes beyond what either you or I think. It even goes beyond what our Supreme Court decides. The core question is, what is our basis of determining what is right and what is wrong? Is there an unchangeable standard of moral truth? To some, a majority opinion makes that decision. Note that the Supreme Court decided on a five/four split. They each rendered their opinions. Opinions can change.

For others, emotion has made this an issue. Homosexual couples feel deep attraction to each other. Should they be allowed to act on that feeling? Many things in America today are justified on emotion.

As a Christian, I believe that right and wrong is external to either our emotions or our opinions. Right and wrong for many issues has been established by the Creator God who has revealed them, along with himself, to us. The Bible becomes our basis for authority.

The first Christians lived in a culture and under a government that had many laws that disagreed with the standards God had given. They obeyed the law whenever it did not contradict God’s law, and they showed love and grace to everyone around them, whether or not they held to God’s belief and behavior standard. However, they did not compromise their own behavior, even when it cost them their lives.

Our country has just made another step back toward the first century. Let’s be sure our behavior and belief meets God’s standards, not the world’s. Homosexual behavior is only one item on the list of things to avoid found in I Corinthians 6, many of which are far more prevalent in our world today and every one of which needs and can receive the grace and forgiveness that Jesus died on the cross for. Let’s share his grace in love with all while living in holiness and truth.

More Filling

John 4:31-34 - Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

Are you hungry? If so, what is your top priority? For most of us, it is to get food. Watch a hungry dog, cat, or child. They will beg and plead to be fed with food, but just like the nameless woman came to the Sychar well to get water for her thirsty body but found more satisfying living water from Jesus, Jesus denied his physical hunger to pursue the more filling food of fulfilling God’s purpose for him.

The disciples did not understand this. They only recognized their and their leader’s own physical hunger. They missed a deeper need in front of them. They also missed the opportunity to see an entire community transformed, but Jesus did not miss it. Dozens of people in that town had their lives changed by believing in Jesus. It all started because Jesus was willing to put his own physical needs lower on the list than helping someone he happened to come across.

I wonder how many times each of us has missed a chance like that. Far too often I have allowed my own hunger and selfish need to keep me from being aware of the deeper needs of those around me. Yet, when I have chosen to act, I have found Jesus’ words true: Helping others is far more fulfilling than meeting my own needs. 

Most Essential

John 4:10 - Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

We are told that water is the most essential ingredient of life. Although we can live forty or more days without food, most people cannot live more than three days without water, especially if exposed to heat or sunlight.

Jesus headed home from Jerusalem to Galilee by passing through the region of Samaria, filled with people the Jews considered half-breed outcasts. Jesus’ disciples left him at a well while they got food. There Jesus met the outcast of outcasts. She did the most social of women’s activities – getting water – alone and in the heat of the day because she had the most scandalous reputation in town.

Yet, she still needed water. She needed water to survive.

When she got to the well that day, Jesus asked for a drink to start a conversation. Ultimately, though, he wanted to show her a way to get an even more essential ingredient that the physical water she came to draw. He offered her living water.

In verse 14 Jesus said this living water that only he could give leads to eternal life. The woman believed him. She left the jug she brought for physical water and ran back to town to tell everyone that she had found the Messiah – the one with living water. She risked everything because she found something even more important. The people believed her, in spite of her previous life. They came to Jesus. They found living water for themselves. They were never the same.

What are you pursuing today? I am sure it is important. We need physical water. We need our incomes. We need to fulfill our daily responsibilities, but please make sure you do not miss the most essential of all ingredients. Jesus offers the living water that can spring within you to eternal life. Believe in him. Receive his gift. You will be forever grateful.