You Must Leave And Cleave!
MEMORISE: …For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? – Matthew 19:5
READ: Ephesians 5:25-31 (KJV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 1-3
MESSAGE:
Marriage is a good thing when God is in it. The Bible says in Proverbs 18:22:
“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.”
This Scripture dismisses the wrong notion that marriage is an entanglement or a necessary evil. Our memory verse today reveals that the man must leave his parents and cleave to his wife. However, it takes love, the God-type of love for a man to totally leave his parents and cleave to his wife. For marriage to work, the man must strictly adhere to this twin-command – leaving (his parents) and cleaving (to his wife). This love we are talking about today is unconditional – it is not predicated on whether the woman is good or bad. The moment you say “I do”, you are under obligation to love your wife as yourself according to our Bible reading of today which says in part:
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it;” – Ephesians 5:25
“But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.” – 1 Corinthians 7:32-33
The truth in the above passage is that a man is under obligation to cater to the joy and well-being of his wife. Some so-called Christians are so careless about their marriage that they neglect the divine mandate of caring for the family – leaving the wife and children disillusioned about the faith.
To love is to care and to care encompasses the provision of basic amenities for the home. The Bible says in James 2:18:
“Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
In the same way, men must show their love in practical terms to such an extent that there will be no doubt that they love their wives· Note that the Bible didn’t say abandon your family and friends, but you are to leave them and cleave to your Wife in a lifelong union built on the sure foundation of the word of God.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please give me the grace to love my spouse unconditionally.
HYMN 12: In Christ Alone
1. In Christ alone my hope is found;
he is my light, my strength, my song.
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.
2. In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
fulness of God in helpless babe!
This Gift of love and righteousness,
scorned by the ones he came to save,
till on that cross as Jesus died
the wrath of God was satisfied –
for every sin on him was laid:
here in the death of Christ I live.
3. There in the ground his body lay:
Light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
up from the grave he rose again!
And as he stands in victory,
sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
for I am his and he is mine –
bought with the precious blood of Christ.
4. No guilt in life, no fear in death;
this is the power of Christ in me;
from life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of Hell, no scheme of man
can ever pluck me from his hand:
till he returns or calls me home,
here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!
