ISAIAH 55 - "THE WAY"

"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) The third illustration of the 'Perfect Will of God' that we must look at, is that of marriage. This one is far more complex to see; but it is also, far more glorious, once we see it. The first thing we must know, is that God created us with a free will; which means we have the ability to love, but we also have the capacity not to love. Thus, the reason that God established 'The Bill of Divorcement', that the Pharisees came to Jesus about in Mark 10:2-12; Jesus stated, "For the hardness of your heart he wrote this precept". Marriage is refereed to as "Holy Matrimony"; because love is meant to be forever, and it is ordained by God. The correlation between the marriage of a husband and wife, the Church and Christ, and the Love of God, run deeper than we can know; but what we can know, is sufficient for us. What would make a man put away his wife, and to divorce her? What would make man reject God's love for him? What is it that makes God hate divorce? Could they all be based in the same lie? Try to follow me as I lay this out, in a way, that I hope will make sense. First we have the account of Adam, who was depicted as the first man; and God said,"Let us make man in Our image", (Gen 1:26). In verse 27 it says, "So God Created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them". Then in chapter 2 of Genesis, we have a little more detailed account of what happen during the creation process. God formed the man from the dust of the ground, and then breathed His Spirit into man; and man became a living soul, (Gen 2:7). Now, when it came to the creation of the woman, this is where things get a little bit more complex. Genesis 2:21-24, gives us more than a picture of the creation of marriage, but it gives us a picture of man's redemption. (Are you still with me?) Listen up, or "Ho", as Isaiah would say; When God took that rib from Adam to make a woman for him, there was a separation that took place; God separated that rib from Adams body to create the woman; thus when they were later joined together again, they were reunited again into one body. Adam declared in verse 23, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Women, because she was taken out of man". Then the very next verse is the one Jesus quoted to the Pharisees in Mark 10:7 & 8; "Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." All Right Then; to express this is the simplest and most direct way: Likewise, sin had separated man from God, but Jesus, taking on the sins of the world upon that cross, He has joined man back to God. It amazes me beyond measure that the ratio of divorce among Christians is practically the same as the ratio of divorce among non-Christians. I am sure that if we all only knew the beauty of what marriage represents in God's eye, then we would all try a little harder to make it work. It is because of the hardness of the man's heart that God even allows divorce. God's perfect will for those of us that are married, is that we experience the oneness of being bonded together for life; to experience a type of love that is sacrificial; to the very end. As far as who's fault it is that divorce even happens; well, it is the man's!!! I know I might be stepping on some toes here, but this is very important to understand: It is the husband who is responsible to provide the love; the wife responds to that love. Okay, okay; so maybe you don't agree? But think of it like this: Who first loved, us or God? Of course; it is God who first loved us!!! He demonstrated that love for us by denying Himself, taking on the form of a man, and dying on the cross for our sins. It is our responsibility to respond to that love poured out for us, and to accept it. Likewise, the husband is called to deny himself and demonstrate his love for his wife; to give himself for her, and to cherish her, as Christ does the Church. The wife will respond to that love and reverence the husband, much the same way the Church does to Christ. The wife is called to submit to the love of the husband. Why are they not called to love their husbands? Because, the love they have towards their husband is one of response; their love for their husband is more of 'Adoration'; where the husband is worthy of her deepest love and reverence. If you haven't had a chance to see the movie 'Fireproof' yet, you should. My favorite part of the movie was when the wife was at the medical supply place; and she finds out that it was her husband who provided the medical supplies for her mother; not only that, but she finds out the date in which he did it; it was the same day she served him with the divorce papers. She was undone!!! She could hardly function or contain herself, because she saw in the moment how much her husband loved her. This kind of experience is the one I had that morning when I had to explode, "Are You Kidding Me"; as I became undone before God. I know that the apostle Paul and Isaiah both had seen, what I only saw for a millisecond; but that little glimpse was enough to shake my very soul. That morning when I had the vision of Isaiah's declaration of God, (Isaiah 6:1); it was not a robe that I saw that filled the temple; it was the train of a bride's wedding dress... Talk about redemption!