To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? (1 Corinthians 7:10-16 ESV)
If you have a wife keep them… We are on a role of texts from the Bible that talk about marriage relationships, are are really about much more than that. We have discovered over the past few days that these texts talk about relationships, not just marriage, but all relationships.
See today Paul tells us that as believers if we are married with an unbeliever, then we make that person holy, by association. We live in a relationship with them, accepting them as they are even though we have changed, we stay with them, and by doing this we are allowing them to take some of our faith/grace/holiness and have it as their own. It is like in the Lutheran church when a child is baptized as an infant, and the faith of the parents and the sponsors (God parents) is usurped by the child and used as their own faith until they are confirmed and answer the same questions again, but this time for themselves. (OK this is not how it really happens but it is a good analogy and way to think about it.)
You see we all live in relationships with each other and we lend our faith and grace sometimes, and sometimes we borrow. It is community, living in a communal lifestyle. That is really what faith is about, and when one relationship is broken, then all the relationships in the community will suffer because of that.
You see it is about us not being selfish and thinking about ourselves. We can not end a relationship simply because we are no longer happy in it, or it is not what we signed up for. It is not about us, it is about the other.
So look out for the other and think of others before yourself. That is what God did for you, and asks for you to do for each other!
aSacredRebel 