I generally try and keep my level of expectations fairly low so when people act badly I am not surprised. On the flip side when people act 'right' I am always pleasantly surprised. I ran across two news stories this week that surprised me, in a bad way. The first one I found on Yahoo, you can read it here. The title is "Four in 10 say marriage is becoming obsolete." This trend in our society is extremely alarming and disappointing.
I am not sure that there is any other way to say it, but we, God's people, are failing in this area. Aside from the fact that the divorce rate is the same in the church as it is among non-believers, and this is a big issue. It seems that those that are staying married are too quick to jump into the fray and complain about and tear down their spouses. There is something wrong with this picture! In our small groups, Bible classes and private conversations, are we lifting up our mates or tearing them down?
The reason I mention those venues is because if we easily tear down our marriages here among God's people how more willing are we to do it out in the world? I do not have wade very far into the muck and mire of the world to find plenty of people unhappy with their marriages and willing to destroy their spouses, but that should not be us! Our marriages should be so deeply rooted in God and his love that it shines through and the world cannot help but see God alive and at work in us.
I pray that you take some time today to think of your marriage and thank God for the person he has given you to walk through life with. Take some time and pray for the desire to give yourself wholly up for God and your spouse. If we can reclaim the blessing of marriage then we can move out into the world and share the joy with them. If we don't take this responsibility seriously then time a study like this is done 60% of the next generation will not see the need for marriage and eventually this God given institution will fall by the wayside.
The second disappointing news story I came across was almost crippling to me. I found it on MSN, you can read it here. Honestly, this sickens me. I really enjoy some of the comedic content of the sitcom 'Scrubs'. I tend to watch the reruns when they are on, but there was an episode that is similar to this story. I was severely disappointed as one of the main characters on the show, often jokingly, spent an entire episode debating whether or not to abort his 'accident'.
I have never been in a situation where such a decision needed to be made, but the levity with which 'Scrubs' approached it and this couple online are doing it is depressingly disappointing. I appreciated the way the author of the MSN news article began, "You need a license to drive a car -- but you don't need a license build a website where you can post sonograms of your unborn child and ask the Internet to vote whether you abort or keep your unborn child." I am in no way suggesting government regulation of the public's reproductive actions but we, as followers of Christ, must make a stand here.
If you are so inclined, go to the news story, follow the link to the site and vote. As the story noted, this may just be a publicity stunt by Pro-Choice advocates but it demands our response. What can be our response beyond just voting here? Well, I no longer think we just sit in our pews and condemn abortion. We can no longer have our 'choose life' license plates or bumper stickers. We must be willing to engender a community of God's people that welcomes in these children. Now I am not saying we must all go out and adopt kid tomorrow. We are not all gifted to handle such things.
What I am saying is that abortion is often a last option when people feel like they have no where else to turn. We, as a people of God, should always be an option. We should live in such a way that when people, regardless of what they are facing, feel they have no other options, they know God's people will care for them. May God have mercy on our silence and inaction, and provoke us to be the community of his people that are making a difference, here and now.
I am not sure that there is any other way to say it, but we, God's people, are failing in this area. Aside from the fact that the divorce rate is the same in the church as it is among non-believers, and this is a big issue. It seems that those that are staying married are too quick to jump into the fray and complain about and tear down their spouses. There is something wrong with this picture! In our small groups, Bible classes and private conversations, are we lifting up our mates or tearing them down?
The reason I mention those venues is because if we easily tear down our marriages here among God's people how more willing are we to do it out in the world? I do not have wade very far into the muck and mire of the world to find plenty of people unhappy with their marriages and willing to destroy their spouses, but that should not be us! Our marriages should be so deeply rooted in God and his love that it shines through and the world cannot help but see God alive and at work in us.
I pray that you take some time today to think of your marriage and thank God for the person he has given you to walk through life with. Take some time and pray for the desire to give yourself wholly up for God and your spouse. If we can reclaim the blessing of marriage then we can move out into the world and share the joy with them. If we don't take this responsibility seriously then time a study like this is done 60% of the next generation will not see the need for marriage and eventually this God given institution will fall by the wayside.
The second disappointing news story I came across was almost crippling to me. I found it on MSN, you can read it here. Honestly, this sickens me. I really enjoy some of the comedic content of the sitcom 'Scrubs'. I tend to watch the reruns when they are on, but there was an episode that is similar to this story. I was severely disappointed as one of the main characters on the show, often jokingly, spent an entire episode debating whether or not to abort his 'accident'.
I have never been in a situation where such a decision needed to be made, but the levity with which 'Scrubs' approached it and this couple online are doing it is depressingly disappointing. I appreciated the way the author of the MSN news article began, "You need a license to drive a car -- but you don't need a license build a website where you can post sonograms of your unborn child and ask the Internet to vote whether you abort or keep your unborn child." I am in no way suggesting government regulation of the public's reproductive actions but we, as followers of Christ, must make a stand here.
If you are so inclined, go to the news story, follow the link to the site and vote. As the story noted, this may just be a publicity stunt by Pro-Choice advocates but it demands our response. What can be our response beyond just voting here? Well, I no longer think we just sit in our pews and condemn abortion. We can no longer have our 'choose life' license plates or bumper stickers. We must be willing to engender a community of God's people that welcomes in these children. Now I am not saying we must all go out and adopt kid tomorrow. We are not all gifted to handle such things.
What I am saying is that abortion is often a last option when people feel like they have no where else to turn. We, as a people of God, should always be an option. We should live in such a way that when people, regardless of what they are facing, feel they have no other options, they know God's people will care for them. May God have mercy on our silence and inaction, and provoke us to be the community of his people that are making a difference, here and now.
