Title: WBB, Home Wrecking and Christ
Location: Wycliffe College Chapel
Description:
Dear friends:
These days, when I think about marriage or any other relationship of covenantal intimacy, words from a Martyn Joseph song invariably come to mind.
“I would never do anything in this world to hurt you…
But I do.”
The deep sentiment of faithful love meets the reality of pain, hurt and betrayal.
We profess with confidence that we would never do anything in the world to hurt the one we love the deepest, and yet we in fact do hurt that very person.
I think that Paul is on to something like this in Romans 7.
Leaving the false home of sin,
cleave to Christ as your covenantal lover.
Married to Christ,
be fruitful and multiply.
That’s our identity in Christ.
And we would never do anything in this world to hurt our Messianic
lover…. But we do.
There is the problem.
We are married to Christ,
but it seems that we are still incurable homebreakers.
We know that God¹s law calls us to homemaking,
yet we sabotage home all the time.
We are called to be at home in Christ,
but sin dwells in us,
sin has taken up residence in us
and it seems that homemaking is not at home in our lives.
We are torn,
we are taken captive by forces that are deeper than our will for home,
we are slaves to homelessness,
condemned to always live outside of the home we so deeply long for.
But here¹s the good news.
There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!
Slavery is never the last word in this story.
Liberation is at hand.
Homecoming remains available.
The promise is not nullified.
Some years ago I preached a blistering sermon on Yahweh’s divorce proceedings against Israel in Hosea. After the sermon, a local carpenter responded by saying, “That’s all true Brian. But in Jesus Christ, the charges are dropped.”
We may be home wreckers, but Jesus is committed to homemaking with us, regardless of the cost. Thanks be to God.
Wine Before Breakfast
Wycliffe Chapel
Tuesday @ 7.22am
Amy Fisher is preaching
Andrew Asbil is presiding.
Bring a friend.
Shalom,
Brian
PS don’t forget the book launch/party this Thursday night. Details at
http://crc.sa.utoronto.ca/
Start Time: 7:22
Date: 2009-11-10
Leave a comment