Marriage | January 12
And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:18, 21-25
Father, we live now in a time that largely ignores what You have just taught us. We seem to fail to recognize the essence of marriage and your intended purpose. Forgive us Father for our past mistakes when we failed to grasp Your will for us. You have taught us in many places that You hate divorce, You desire children to be blessed by marriages of like minded persons who worship You and love You and to produce children that are sanctified by a marriage in which we are committed, for a lifetime, to serve You.
In these times, we largely fail to follow Your guidance regarding marriage and the sanctification of our children. We know, Father, that You forgave some of Your saints, including David, for indiscretions. Therefore we do not wonder whether You will forgive us.
It is not simply forgiveness that we desire, but we want to set out on a path of love and obedience that conforms to Your expectations. Many of us have failed to meet Your expectations but since we understand that You delight in forgiving us, we now declare that is our will to do Your will.
We want, Father, to fully understand and commit ourselves to the view that two persons, fully committed to serving You, and each other, become as one flesh. That bond, we declare faithfully, will help us be more forgiving and more tolerant of each other’s mistakes and weaknesses than is typical in our times. We see that is Your perfect will for us.
Our mistakes are forever with us, and they seem insurmountable at times, but we thank You God that our sins, once expressed, are not only forgiven, but they are separated from us as far as the east is from the west, never to remembered against us again. Such mercy exceeds our experience among men. We thank You Jesus for your unselfish sacrifice, covering our sins, forever. Amen
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project
