Quitters

I just got back from watching "He's Just Not That Into You" at the movie theater. If you haven't already seen it, please don't waste your money. It wasn't that it was horrible. It had many great actors and actresses in it. The filming was pretty good, too. But there were several parts of the storyline that just made me angry.

The movie follows the stories of several couples and the different types of relationships they're in. One couple in particular is married, but the husband makes a series of choices that lead him into an affair. When he admits it to his wife, she wants to try and salvage the marriage, and he agrees. Yet he continues to cheat on her as if nothing had happened. When she finally gets fed up with the lies, she files for divorce.

My generation is facing a dire situation. We are the society that says, "Hey, if you're not enjoying it, then something's wrong and you have every right, maybe in fact an obligation, to ditch the situation until you find happiness." We are part of the generation that embraces divorce as a viable alternative to fighting out the storm. We are a generation of quitters, unwilling to do the work to make our relationships succeed. This is a scary thing indeed.

I am eternally grateful that God doesn't quit on us. Can you imagine? "Oh, well little Johnny is not pleasing me right now. That's it. I'm done. Let's cut the cord and go our separate ways." Indeed I would be a woman most lost if my Lord treated me like many in our society treat their spouses. People are not expendable. Covenants are not temporary. As I was watching the dynamics of the husband and wife on screen tonight I asked myself, "Why can't he just stop doing this? Why doesn't he just throw himself into their relationship and fix it?" I realized I was comparing this on-screen marriage to that in Fireproof and I suddenly understood the difference. The husband in Fireproof even says that, "God has given me a love for my wife that I never could have had on my own." The difference is Jesus. What would marriages be like in America if those struggling submitted to Jesus and let Him teach them what true love is like? How many broken hearts and broken lives could be avoided? I live in a wayward nation, and a wayward world. Though Cornerstone isn't perfect, I realized why I love this community so much: it is a closer model of heaven than most other communities I've ever been a part of. I have a longing for a new earth, where people love the Lord and submit to Him. May this new earth be realized quickly, and may we learn what it means to have steadfast love like our Lord, keeping our commitments to one another.