As I sit and reflect on these powerful words, I think forward to my upcoming marriage in three short weeks. These simple, yet incredibly strong

words are the cornerstone of Christian marriages; the terms of the marriage contract drawn up by God, who is the creator of man and author of

the institution of marriage. " 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together,

let no man separate." (Matthew 19:5-6) So many before me have recited these words with the utmost conviction and the purest of intentions, but then after years of challenges and trying times these words end up being hollow and meaningless too many people. It amazes me to research and find that in "Canada we had a divorce rate at 45.1 % in 1998" (Stats Canada 2000) and what is even more appalling is that this number is no different whe

divorce, and discuss them while considering not only Jesus' teaching but also the

The rabbis regarded Jesus' teaching about monogamy as a digression, and they saw from what he said that Jesus was against divorce in general. They therefore brought Jesus back to the point by referring directly to the text at the center of the debate, Deuteronomy 24:1-4. This was the only place where a divorce certificate is mentioned in the Old Testament, so they ask: If God is against divorce "Why did Moses command the giving of a certificate of divorce." The way they put this further question prompted Jesus to correct another mistake they made about divorce. They said in their question that Moses "commanded" divorce (Matthew 19:7), but Jesus replied that Moses only "permitted" divorce (Matthew 19:8). The Jews in Jesus' day considered divorce obligatory if the wife committed adultery. Jesus stood against this prevailing idea by saying that Moses "permitted" divorce when adultery had occurred, but it was not compulsory. Such divorce is due to human sinfulness - in particular "hard-heartedness." Jesus said that divorce is never part of God's will, and even if adultery has occurred, it may still be possible to save the marriage. However, God recognized that human sinfulness will sometimes cause a breakdown, and therefore Moses permitted legal recognition of this in the process of divorce.

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