by Jake Magee
www.oasisnorthvalley.org
The topic of divorce is ripe and relevant within evangelical churches. The garden variety evangelical appears to be neck and neck with his culture in the rate at which he divorces. This is likely due to the typical evangelical affirming the culture’s position on divorce, as well as manhood, womanhood, and family. We divorce too easily, because we marry too easily. We marry too easily, because we don’t have a clue on what commitment is. We also marry wrongly. We marry with fuzzy and sometimes reversed roles in the family. When the design for family has been ignored, it’s not surprising to see toxic environments that makes divorce a welcomed life-preserve in the midst of a storm-tossed relationship.
In the backdrop of multiple illegitimate divorces, this begs the question of what Biblically counts as a "legitimate" divorce. I think most people would agree that the scope for what counts as “justified” divorce has been made so broad so as to allow for the dissolving of the union due to matters as trivial as “burning dinner.” So what biblical condition or conditions give license for a person to divorce?
As a pastor, there is always a tremendous burden to have the “word of the Lord” when dealing with people so as to ensure that I’ve done my due diligence in communicating God’s word on topics that determine lives and eternity. This post, and all subsequent related posts, will chronicle my mental journey in seeking a more informed position on the parameters of divorce and remarriage. This means that most of these posts may appear disjointed, reflecting a disjunctive mind which will pursue suggestions that may arise randomly as I interact with the biblical text. Conclusions may be reached and discarded as further investigate discloses vulnerabilities. It will be in the homestretch that each respective area will begin to find their place and position as my position. With that, I sign off.
