But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. — Matthew 5:32
What about the wronged party? Recently we’ve focused on those who commit adultery. But what about those who have been sinned against?
Here are two words for those who have been sinned against. The first is comfort. God wants to comfort you. He wants to soothe the deep, deep hurt in your heart. He wants to take the anger, the confusion, the invalidation, the betrayal, the shock and replace it with peace.
This is not something that just happens automatically. You have to take these broken places in your heart to Jesus. You probably will need help — we all need each other, and this is one of those times when we need help.
My second word is respect. We have already talked about compassion mingled with respect, but now I want to focus on respect for the one who has been sinned against. You are not a doormat. You are a holy son or daughter of Almighty God. The more you have peace in your heart, peace gained from the Lord, the more you will be able to understand where the boundaries need to be. Relationships are based on trust, and the one who has sinned needs to be on a program to regain your trust if the marriage is to survive.
In this passage, the Lord points out that enough is enough. He set an escape clause for marriage, not because He wants marriages to fail, but because both parties must earn trust and respect for the marriage to succeed.
If you have been struggling with the issues that we’ve talked about the last several days, please know that our prayers are with you. May the Lord encourage you, give you wisdom, and grant you peace.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.