READ: Hebrews 13.
Verses chosen for
meditation: Hebrews 13: 4-5.
4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and
let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral
and adulterous. 5 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.”
REFLECT
The writer of the Book of
Hebrews elevated Jesus as superior above angels, all animal sacrifices and prophets
including Moses. In such declaration, the writer is aiming to exhort believers
in Jesus to live lives pleasing to God. So, when we submit that our Lord Jesus is
superior above all, do we not see Him as our perfect example for holy living in
every aspect of our lives?
Following on the call in
verse 1,” let brotherly love continue”, the author continues the call to honour
marital love in light of Jesus’ highest moral standard. The call is that
marriage must be honoured by all. For sure, the Bible holds high the ideal of
married life and the institution of family. Unfortunately, this is difficult to
speak about today, because this honouring is becoming less and less true in the
present society.
The author of Hebrews first
warns all believers, “marriage is honourable among all and let the marriage bed
be undefiled” (v.4). The author follows on with a stern warning, “God will judge...”. Next, the writer warns that there is a danger
of materialism. But the author assured us that we can be contended because the
Lord will never leave us nor forsake us (v.5).
Friends, how do we will
ourselves not to conform to the values of todays’ society?
RELATE
The solemn warning, “marriage
is honourable among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled” (v.4) may not
sound too welcoming to many modern-day readers. Some may even consider this as a
piece of “old fashion” and irrelevant advice because to them, erotic love (eros)
is acceptable as long as they enjoy so-called “free love” with one another
together. But in no less serious tone, the writer reminds us of the
consequences of immorality, that is God’s judgement (v.4b).
So, how is marriage
dishonoured in today’s society? Pastor David Guzik in his bible commentary “The Enduring Word”, outlines
marriage is dishonoured by divorce, justified or not. Marriage is also dishonoured
by living together outside of marriage, it is dishonoured by adultery. He
continues to list that marriage is dishonoured by neglect and re-definition (for
example: gay marriage instead of one man one woman).
Recently, I heard of a young man in his late thirties, who had already
two divorces. It seems that marriages these days are no longer a lifelong commitment. Sustaining the
sacredness of marriage is no longer key these days. No wonder, some youngsters
have expressed that they will not enter into a marriage relationship. This is
because they have lost confidence in marriage itself. The
holy institution of marriage today is so tainted by dishonour.
Sometimes unconsciously,
we are being subsumed into this “free love” to keep up as the new generation
thinking. Many struggle with complex social issues of these days to be accepted
and to stay relevant. In the midst of living in this world with waves of “new
morality”, we need to be cautiously aware of the temptations to drive us to
conform instead of obeying God’s holy instructions. In contrast, our biblical values are counter-cultural and
counter-intuitive. They go against the principles and values espoused by the
world.
As
disciples of Christ, we seek to live holy lives and uphold morality. To our
next generation, we convey biblical values and model by example with our holy
living. For example, a challenging question here, "do we not instruct our teenage children not to share the
same room with his/ her partners before marriage during their overseas holidays?" Often, there are no easy answers to such perplexing topics too. But as Christian parents, perhaps we can help offer alternatives so as to avoid possible
temptations. For Christian couples, do we consciously guard our marriage and work on
restoration instead of pursuing the easy option of divorce, if we have seemingly
detected a “crack” in the marital relationship? Our call is to practise non-conformity by obedience,
in rejection to today’s norms.
While obedience is a choice, yet it is the best in order to please our Lord.
REST
Dear Lord,
I ask You to will my spirit to choose Your holy standard instead
of the world's. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Vincent
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