Approaching the Line

I was reading Mark 10 today and was humbled to see how similar to the pharisees I am.

At the beginning of the chapter, the pharisees are trying to trap Jesus again with their words. They ask Him about divorce, but they concerned with what is lawful, not what is peasing to God.

[...] “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
(Mark 10:2 ESV)

Sometimes there is a distinction between "lawful" and "moral". Something may be permitted by the law, but it isn't God's ideal situation or desire for one's life.

We always hear stories and urban legends of the burglar who breaks into someone's house, and trips on the stairs while robbing the family. The burglar then sues the family for the injuries.  Or the protest group that goes way too far, venting anger and hatred towards innocent people, yet the group is protected by "freedom of speech". Sometimes the law permits things that most agree aren't moral.

In this situation, the pharisees never considered God. They were only concerned with how much they can get away with before they cross a line set by the law. That all-too-dangerous thought of "how far is too far?" Essentially the pharisees, and myself sometimes, are asking "how much bad stuff can we do before it's considered sin?"

But in Mark 10:6, Jesus points them back to God's intention and desire.

But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
(Mark 10:6-9 ESV)

There's something beautiful about the way the ESV phrases that a man will "hold fast to his wife". It paints the picture of a relationship that he treasures and a person that is precious to him. It implies that he is willing to work and struggle through whatever happens, that he values his wife so much that he is looking for opportunities to strengthen their marriage, not opportunities to end it. This is the picture of marriage that God intended from the beginning.

While the pharisees are right that Moses made it lawful for divorce to happen, Jesus immediately turns their attention to God's heart and intention for marriage. If the pharisees are as close to God as they claim to be, why are they looking for loopholes to justify going against His will. If I love God as much as I say I do, why would I split hairs in hopes of finding an opportunity to break His heart?

Now the question is, "Do you want to please God, or do you want to push to the limit of the law?"
Instead of asking "what can we get away with?" or "how far is too far?" we should be asking "what is God's heart and how can we please Him?"

God, turn my heart towards you!