Mar 6 - Matthew 7:24

Jesus said,

“Everyone then who hears

these words of mine and acts on them

will be like a wise man who

built his house on rock.”

Matthew 7:24

 

Do you know what is the best marriage insurance is? Do you know what the best wisdom is? Do you know the address of the rock upon which we’re supposed to build our house in marriage? Let me ask that a little differently: Statistically, do you know what is perhaps the best way to ensure that your marriage doesn’t end in divorce?

 

To answer those questions, let me tell you a story. (You’ve probably heard me tell it a dozen time, but until you’ve done it, you haven’t heard it nearly enough!)

 

Several years ago, a researcher was trying to answer two perplexing questions. The first was, if church, faith, and the Holy Spirit are supposed to make such a difference in our lives, how come Christians get divorced at about the same rate as non-Christians? How come Christians use drugs, become alcoholic, fudge on their taxes, and cheat on their spouses at about the same rate as non-Christians? Indeed, name just about any morally-dubious behavior, and researcher George Barna wanted to know why Christians were just as powerless to halt sin as the rest of the world.

 

His second question was this: Statistically, how do you “define” a Christian?

 

It’s harder than you think. Both congregational leaders and once-a-year church attenders identify themselves as “Christian.” Orthodox scholars and members of some pretty strange cults identify as “Christian.” People who are simply born in a nominally “Christian-nation” sometimes check the box “believer.” So in a research survey, how does a researcher accurately measure whether someone is a “deeply believing Christian” or not?

 

Well, after much pondering, George Barna decided to ask a simple series of questions. These questions involved some of the time-tested basics of the faith. Most were staked out in the historic creeds that have timelessly defined Christian doctrine. “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?” “Do you believe he actually created the earth?” “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” “Do you believe that he was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, died, and was literally resurrected?” The basics. Clear scripture. Timeless doctrine.

 

Something strange happened, though. When the surveys were run, the results were shocking. Only one out of eleven churchgoers believed ALL eight of basic doctrines!

 

Wait … let’s turn that around: Ten out of eleven American Christians pick-and-choose what they’ll believe. “I like this. … That sounds reasonable … But I don’t really believe that.”

 

We’re our own arbiters of truth. We decide what’s right and wrong. Ten out of eleven of us.

 

But here was the real stunner – and here is the marriage insurance! What do you think happened when George Barna crossed the studies?

 

·     For the ten out of eleven who were picking-and-choosing what to believe (or not), their rate of divorce, drug use, and addiction was just as high as the rest of the American culture.

·     But for the one in eleven who believed it all, their rates for these risky behaviors were two-, three-, six-, sometimes even eleven times less than the rest of culture!

 

Do you see what that means?

 

If you’re deciding what to believe or not, then in a sense you’re acting as your own god. You’re your own rock. There’s no authority higher than you … at least for your own life. And the result, statistically, is that you have zero power to avoid the moral pitfalls of our generation.

 

But if you give God room to work in your life, you get all of the Father’s wisdom and all of the King’s power. As Jesus said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”

 

The Scriptures urge us to “let the Word of Christ dwell in [us] richly” (Colossians 3:16). Why? Because that’s the true source of power in your life and marriage.

 

And God’s Word and God’s truth (and the resulting gift of God’s power) represents the best insurance that our marriage can ever buy!

 

Question of the Day: see below

               

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to go “all in”

for the best marriage insurance

 

Question of the Day

·         Getting Married or Newlyweds: If “the Word of Christ dwell[ing] in [us] richly” is the world’s best marriage insurance, then what’s keeping you from trusting totally in the Word of God?

·         Married: If “the Word of Christ dwell[ing] in [us] richly” is the world’s best marriage insurance, then what’s keeping you from trusting totally in the Word of God?

·         Not Married: If “the Word of Christ dwell[ing] in [us] richly” is the best way to avoid most of life’s pitfalls, then what’s keeping you from trusting totally in the Word of God?