Grace: Born That WayVoorbeeld

Imagine a chair.  

A chair doesn't need an instruction manual. We intuitively know how to sit in one based on the design. If we use chairs incorrectly, we end up in comical or dangerous situations. 

When God gave the gift of marriage to the first man and woman, He intelligently designed it to work a certain way. Some think, because there are few specific instructions, that we can define marriage however we want.

In Genesis chapter 4, Lamech redefined marriage when he acquired women like property.  His family is the first instance of polygamy in scripture.   His rebellious pride also led him to twist God’s mercy for Cain into justifying vengeful murder.  God’s grace limited the shedding of blood, Lamech’s pride multiplied it.

When we use God’s gifts incorrectly, we end up in absurd or dangerous situations.

Scripture is full of people redefining marriage.  Not a single one of them, not David “a man after God’s heart”, nor Solomon - the wisest and richest king of Israel got by with it.  But praise God who turns our rebellious past, like the five-times married woman at the well, into a tool to draw us to Him.

Embrace God’s obvious design and purpose for marriage.  By His grace, He created it that way.