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Last Sunday, we explored the image that Jesus used to illustrate the Kingdom of God. In that Kingdom, the King/Groom - Jesus, will never leave us nor forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5-6 reminds us:

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper;
    I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

In Deuteronomy 24, the question of a man divorcing his wife was addressed. In Mark 10, the Pharisees asked if it was lawful for a man to write a certificate of divorce and send his wife away.  Thus far, the arc of Scripture is about a husband divorcing his wife – thank God, He is faithful to never do that!

But look at the explanation of Jesus to the disciples once they get into the house. Jesus is going to add a new concept in Mark 10:11-12:

And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Here is the idea of the bride leaving the groom, the wife leaving the husband, the queen leaving the king!! This one statement brings in another aspect of the imagery.  

Revelation 2: 4-5 gives us a picture of the Bride of Christ leaving the faith for someone else:

[to the church in Ephesus] “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Hebrews 3:12 puts it bluntly: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

The writer of Hebrews is addressing fellow Christians (“brothers”), warning them that they may fall away from God! Though God will never write us a certificate of divorce, Jesus introduced the thought that the one who claims to be in Christ can write a certificate of divorce and leave the Kingdom of God for idols. This can look like theological drift, disconnection from a Christian life, or a complete abandonment of the faith altogether. 

The solution that we find in Hebrews 3 is this: 

“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

The wife that remains steadfastly invested in her marriage does not fall away. The wife that seeks the company of those who will encourage her in her marriage will not fall away. However, if the wife abandons the marriage in her heart and chooses a friend group that glorifies divorce, the result is not far away.

Stay plugged into the Word. It is God speaking to you!
Stay plugged into prayer. God wants to hear your uplifted voice with whatever concerns you!
Stay plugged into the fellowship of the saints. God has given you a body of believers that can encourage and sharpen your happiness in fellowship with Jesus!