All Things Beautiful #8 – Ken Williams

Transformed by Jesus’ faithfulness and love:

Dave, my friend and brother in Christ, and I discussed marriage and sexual intercourse after church services. I said to him, “The only one of God’s commands humanity has obeyed is, ‘…Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth…’” (Gen. 1:28b). Dave laughed, “Yes, but God cheated.” Surprised, I asked, “God cheated?” Dave responded, “Well, he made it fun!”

Dave is now deceased but at that time he was recovering from heroin addiction. In our discussion he told me his former wife divorced him, out of concern for their kids and herself. Half a year earlier, EMTs had placed his body in an ambulance. He flatlined for 5 minutes. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and the startled attendant shouted, “You were dead!” Dave accepted Jesus’ breath and his stoney heart softened. He lived two more years.

His former wife remarried but the couple permitted Dave to make amends and reconcile with their two teens. Spontaneous love flowed through Dave, making amends with those he had hurt. Years of self-abuse ended after two years of sobriety. In his mid-forties, he returned the breath Jesus gave him in the ambulance.

Dave knew that God isn’t naïve and that unfaithful humanity didn’t outfox him by promiscuously “having fun”. His wife, children, and he suffered heartbreaking consequences as humanity has from the beginning. It’s inspiring to see how God’s presence, his life-giving unconditional love transformed Dave to being faithful to his former wife and their children, not as man and wife, but fellow human with fellow human.

Jesus shared what he (God) had in mind when he created marriage.

Some Pharisees asked Jesus about the legality of a man divorcing his wife. They revealed their stoney hearts by asking such a question. Here are God’s adversaries challenging Love. The gospel writer, Matthew, wrote Jesus’ answer, “Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become on flesh’? Consequently they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matt. 19:4b-6 NASB)

The stoney hearted adversaries argued that Moses commanded a man desiring to divorce his wife for any cause at all to give her a certificate of divorce; Moses legalized it. Jesus’ response came from his heart of love, “He said to them, ‘It was because you were so hardhearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:8 NRSV) Ephesians 5:31-32, “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. (Gen. 2:24). This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”

Now this is a great mystery, but it begins to make sense once we see that Jesus will marry everyone who accepts his hand of marriage, who loves him, who willingly chooses to be faithful to the Lamb of God, the God who washes dirty feet. The “More Christlike God” by Brad Jersak reveals God for who he is, LOVE.

Peter had been disillusioned by Jesus’ humiliating Passion. Jesus drew him to his side and asked Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” (John 21:16 NRSV) This was not to shame Peter, but to see if he, like my friend Dave, loved Jesus for who he is and marry him.

Stay tuned for “All Things Beautiful” – 9. More from the apostle Paul in a man and woman being faithful to, and loving a fellow human, in marriage.

Ken and Nancy Williams served for some 25 years in pastoral ministry, and then almost another 20 years serving and mentoring other pastors.  With the heart of a pastor Ken continues to write and blog from upstate New York where he and Nancy live close to their grandchildren.