Solid Ground - Ep. 8 - Sixth Commandment

Solid Ground - Faith & Family

Dave RueterApril 21, 2022Catechism

Previous Page

Passage: Genesis

Sixth Commandment

Downloadable Reflection Guide

When teaching confirmation, this is the commandment that both those teaching and those being taught tend to least look forward to. For your average 13-14-year-old, the immediate practicality of this commandment has them at a loss. Yet, this is likely the best time to think through and come to a personal understanding and commitment. In Genesis 2, God created the woman from the rib of the man. This is why the Bible talks about a man and his wife becoming one flesh in the bonds of marriage.

For some in our culture, these come off as antiquated and old-fashioned ideas. With no-fault divorce and culture all too ready to turn a blind eye to just about any level of marital infidelity, it’s no wonder. However, if we think back to the fourth commandment and the foundation laid there for the family, the importance of honoring the bonds of marriage can be seen as all the more important.

We often think of marriage as founded on the emotion of love and while love should factor into the equation and marriage is all the better when it does, even more fundamental for marriage is commitment. Emotions grow stronger and weaker, sometimes throughout individual days. Commitment is not like that. Commitment is a dedication to honor promises even when you don’t “feel” like it.

This honoring of commitments begins even before marriage vows are spoken. The young Christian honors his/her future commitments to their future spouse by not violating those bonds even before they are forged. Years ago I had a nurse use an illustration of a tennis ball with tape wrapped, sticky-side out on it. She selected a partner to toss the ball back and forth to. She had this partner and the larger class note how with each throw or bounce of the ball the stickiness lessened and other items stuck to the ball making it far less appealing to catch. This is a great way to visualize the impact that violations of any kind of our marriage bonds/commitments have on our ability to cling to our spouse as God designed and intended.

Thoughts for Reflection

In what ways can you strengthen the bond of your marriage or that of another?

 

Message Notes

You can add you own personal sermon notes along the way. When you’re finished, you’ll be able to email or download your notes.

Email
 
Download as PDFClear Notes