Marriage Analogy

Using marriage as an analogy for our commitment to Jesus may not be apt for you at this time, but I think it's a good one overall. Your most recent post raised several thoughts in my mind.

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You wrote:

I believe those parts of The Bible that extoll the values of "til death us do part" are not God's wishes - because He never made us like that.

That's a difficult statement to agree with. For one thing, it's a stretch to say that just because you (or I, or others, or most people) are a given way, that it's the way God made us. By that logic then: I sin, therefore God made me to sin. You seem to ignore another possibility: God did indeed make us to mate for life. But we are fallen creatures, rarely seeking to do our creator's will, always under the spell of sensual temptations. Just because it is difficult to maintain a marriage does not mean it is impossible.

Note: by the way, if I left the impression that Lisa and I have this near-perfect relationship, then I have mislead you. We struggle quite a bit, more than I'd prefer. It's difficult -- very, very difficult -- at times. What keeps me going is my commitment to maintaining it.

But debating whether we "were made" for life-long marriage really isn't the point here. I used it simply as a way of explaining what I think is an important element of the Christian faith, which is an intentional and deliberate commitment to Christ. Marriage is -- or should be -- an intentional and deliberate commitment to another. That was the parallel.

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As for Yoda's statement of where contentment lies ... two points:

1. Part of that is simply re-packaged Buddhism. That's one of the reasons I don't like the Star Wars movies. One is that I think they long ago ceased to be creative movies (like Spielberg and his awful "War of the Worlds"). But second, the underlying message seems to me to be a kind of mixed-bag of philosophies. But in the movie itself there's an inherent contradiction: if we're to "train ourselves to let go of everything you fear to lose," that would include letting go of the hope and dream of the Republic, or whatever the anti-Empire folks in that movie called themselves.
2. The basic premise of that statement is not contradictory to the Christian faith. Jesus himself said more or less the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:19-34 is essentially the message: "Stop clinging so tightly to the things of this earth you think will provide you security or happiness or whatever.") The one thing Christians are expressely told never to let go of is Jesus.

The difference between the Buddhist and Christian perspective on this lies in where one is to place one's hope or trust. For the Buddhist, it's in oneself. For the Christian, it's in Christ.

Make sense does that? :-)

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You wrote:

For me, believing in Jesus is something you do, and there is no going back. No option of divorce.

Jesus himself made clear that there is a "cost" associated with following him. In Luke 14:25-33 he paints the parable picture of how some seek to follow him but after a spell realize the cost is simply too high. "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33, NIV)

So it would seem that the "something you do" you wrote of is not a casual thing. "Christianity is no mere passive acquiescence in a series of propositions, however true." As John R. W. Stott wrote in Mere Christianity. This is where the parallel with marriage is so apt -- neither is marriage a passive acqiescence.

I'm not questioning your commitment to Christ, nor am I saying that your commitment will not survive like your marriages did not (and don't forget, I too have a divorce in my past). I am simply saying that I believe committing to Jesus is more than "something I do." It is that, surely, but it more than that.

Unfortunately, I am in a mighty struggle right now, evaluating the cost. I am the builder who started a tower, but now realizes I might not have the funds to complete it. (Luke 14:28). What sustains me is the recollection of my commitment. It's the same thing that sustains me in my marriage when I'm infuriated with Lisa.