PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

On Maintaining Our Marriage

In this issue of Parenthood, we conclude the series of articles dealing with the impact of the marriage relationship upon child rearing. Here we are touching on the maintenance of our marriage ties by living in and with Christ as our life versus conflicts in our relationships which may culminate in separation and divorce. We prefer not to handle negative topics in our considerations of family living and the raising of children, but we cannot avoid dealing with the real problems that confront many couples (even we who are in the church life) in today's culture.

The initial excerpt from Witness Lee's Life-Study of Matthew points out our need to overcome our temper and our lusts. Because we are fallen human beings, not wood or stone, we have the problem of temper and lust. We need a sober attitude concerning the potential we have of becoming victims of the indwelling sin in our fallen being. We are exhorted to flee our temper and flee our lust. But how can we flee what is intrinsic in our flesh? "Here is our salvation, our rescue, our holiness. Day and night we must stay with the Lord Jesus in our spirit, looking to Him, contacting Him and trusting in Him."

The second excerpt deals directly with the issue of divorce. In the Bible, especially in the direct speaking of the Lord Jesus in Matthew, there must by no divorce except in the case of fornication. This is according to the original design for marriage which was ordained by God Himself, establishing that there is only one husband for one wife. Anything else is adultery.

But, as we see in the third excerpt, "Based upon God's new covenant (Hebrews 8:10-12), we are forgiven by God, who even forgets our failures. God is then able to dispense Himself into our intrinsic being to be our life, to be the law of life, and to be everything to us as our inward content that we may live Him." Realizing that they are genuine sons of God, the husband and wife "will respect each other to the uttermost."

Finally, in the excerpt from the Life-Study of the Minor Prophets concerning Malachi, we see why God views divorce as treachery and what is the purpose of God's making us one in marriage: "to produce ‘the seed of God,' that is, godly children."

Our temper and our lust constantly damage and trouble us. If we were stone, we would not be bothered by these two things. No matter how much you irritate, insult, or offend a stone, it will never react, because it does not have any temper. Furthermore, a stone has no lust. Thus, it can never be tempted by lust. But daily we are either troubled by our temper or tempted by our lust. How easy it is for us to be irritated and offended! Some of us may be offended at least ten times a day. You may be offended by your husband or wife, by your children, by your neighbors, or by your in-laws…. Others are troubled with lust. For this reason, I pointed out in one of the life-study messages on Genesis that you should never be alone with a member of the opposite sex for any length of time. If you are, you will be tempted by your ferocious lusts.

In order to live up to a moral standard higher than that of the old law, you must overcome your temper and your lusts. You may say that this is not easy to do. Right, it is not easy. This is why you need Christ. This is why you need another life. How we need to stay with Christ! We must contact Him not only day by day, but even hour by hour. Because of the temper and lust within us, we need to remain in constant fellowship with Him. You must recognize that you are neither wood nor stone. If you were wood or stone, you would not be concerned about the matter of anger and lust. But because you are a living being, you have these two things within you. Do you not have both temper and lust within? At any time we may be stumbled by our temper or tempted by our lust. Be on the alert! Be watchful and pray regarding these two "demons," our temper and our lust. After we have been saved according to the principle of faith, we need to live a higher life, a life with the highest standard. This life with the highest standard is a life that overcomes our temper and our lust.

FLEEING OUR TEMPER AND LUST

Our age is an age of fornication and adultery. Every country is filled with immorality. Concerning this matter, so many have been drugged by "garlic" and have lost their sense concerning this sin. May this word sober us! We must stay away from today's trend. Nothing insults God more than fornication, which damages the man created by God in His image. We all must flee our temper and our lust. Flee your temper! Flee your lust!

(continued on page 2)