Monday, May 20, 2013

Understanding One Flesh

It has occurred to me that I owe my dad an apology. In my youth my siblings and I urged our father to leave our mother after twenty-five years of marriage. Why you ask? Her depression and mental illness appeared to be negatively affecting him. But he rebuffed all of our arguments. One memory that stands out was his statement that "I could no more do that than cut off a part of my body."
Time has given me a different perspective on this. Over the past week the reality of being united as one flesh has gained new meaning. After thirty-two years of marriage we really are one!
Genesis 2:23-24; The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh' she shall be call 'woman' for she was taken out of man." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.Last week this reality came through a message by Stephen Davey about being a living sacrifice. The scripture:
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
This first verse is telling us how we should live for God. Our lives are motivated by gratitude to God for all he has given us.
"The only fitting response to the gifts that God has given to us is to give the gift of ourselves back to God. In fact, not only is this the motivation for Christian living, it is the secret to Christian victory." Stephen Davey, More Than Skin and Bones Part 1
Through this battle with cancer our desire is to be a witness to Christian victory! "Being a living sacrifice is not about getting more from God, but giving our all to God." Stephen Davey
It is total surrender to God and that requires me to forfeit control of my sacrifice -- even if that's part of myself!

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