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Bulletin articles
Strange Marriage
The wedding was over. Joe and his new bride were alone. As the car pulled away, the bride said, “Take me home.”
“HOME?” Joe exclaimed. “But we haven’t started the honeymoon yet!”
“Joe,” she said, “I’m glad we’re married. We belong to each other and I can use your name as mine, but I want to go back to my old apartment. Now that we’re married, I’ll try to see you once a week. But as far as living with you is concerned, nothing doing. I’m going back to my old occupation, friends, and pastimes. Oh, yes, I do love you! I’ve accepted you as my husband, haven’t I? I belong to you forever. But I refuse to let you interfere with my life. Of course, if I am sick or need money, I’ll call you at once because, after all, you’re my husband. In the meantime, thank you for loving me and being my husband, but keep your hands off my life!”
What do you think of this “marriage?” Yet there are so many who call themselves Christians whose attitude toward Jesus is exactly the same as this bride’s attitude toward her husband. They say, “Lord, I have confessed you as Savior. I’ve been baptized. Thank you for saving me. Now leave me alone! I am going back to my old way of life. I’ll expect you to help me if I need it since you are my Savior. But as far as living with you is concerned, nothing doing. Of course, when I die I want to come and share the home you are preparing. But I hope that will not be for a long time.”
In Romans 7 we see what is involved in becoming a true Christian. Paul, using marriage as an illustration, says that in becoming a Christian you are joined to Christ who died for your sins and rose again in triumph from the tomb. The implied inquiry is, “Will you take Jesus to be your Savior and Lord for eternity?”In becoming a Christian one’s response is, “I will.” At the precise moment you come forth from the waters of baptism you are “married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead.” (Romans 7.4)
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