It all leads back to sin.

Yesterday my nephew posted something on facebook. Here is what he said~

"With millions of Christians praying for God to help them with their marriages, wouldn't you expect their divorce rates to be a bit lower than other people's? But atheists/agnostics are in 1st place with 21% followed by 24% of 'other' Christians and 27% of Evangelical Christians. I'd be interested in hearing any ideas why."

Yesterday I responded, but not prayerfully. Today I have a better answer for him.  This morning I was praying, (not about this specific issue at all actually,) I got to my devotional and God led me right back to the book of 1 John, which is where I've been reading after I'm done with my devotional reading. God knows that I have not yet "thrown off" a continual sin, so he's bringing me back to the same passages over and over, until I do it. I love how he so mercifully does this. He isn't slamming down his commands on me, he gently  brings me back to certain scriptures and reminds me of what I am or am not doing. Just like a parent has to keep reminding their children to do something over and over until they get it, I am God's child and he's doing the same with me. :)

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

1 John 1:5-7

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Light represents what is good, pure, true, holy and reliable.

Darkness represents what is sinful and evil.

God is light~ He is perfect and holy, and true.

The light exposes whatever exists.

Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light.

Sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God. If we want to have a relationship with God we must put aside our sinful way of living.

To claim that we live for him and belong to him but then go out and live for ourselves is hypocrisy.

Christ will expose and judge such deceit.

As for my nephews question. It comes down to sin.

It can be the death of marriages for sure.

We who say we are Christians, followers of Christ, are witnesses to those who don't know him.

This is why many unbelievers stay unbelievers, because those of us who call ourselves Christians are not living a life that glorifies Jesus. We are not shining his light.

It just convicts me more and more that I need to use the power of the holy spirit to throw off my sinful nature because I am supposed to be shining Christ in my life.

It makes me sad to think that I, one who calls myself a Christian and a follower of Christ may be showing darkness instead of light.

I pray that God changes that in me.

When it comes to marriage, or any relationship it's the same.

If we claim to live for Christ, but then live for our self and our own selfish needs and desires instead of the other persons, we are hypocrites.

Imagine if we lived in our marriage completely selfless and for the other person, if we did things to make the other person happy instead of ourselves, would their be divorce? I don't think so.

That is how Jesus lived. Sacrificially. For others. IF we are followers of him, we are to lay down our lives, live for others not ourselves.

My dear nephew, it's not that God is not answering those prayers for their marriages. It's that people are living for themselves, they are not living the example Christ set. Of course we are human and we will never be perfect on this earth. But when we accept Christ as our savior, (which we need because we are so sinful, and we could never make it to heaven because of that) when we really accept him and ask him to be our savior he gives us the holy spirit and the power of the holy spirit lives in us to help us live more like Jesus.

So us Christians, we need to live in the Grace and power that God has given us to have good marriages.  

:)