Devotional

One Flesh

"'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh." -Mark 10:7-8

One day the Pharisees tested Jesus on the subject of divorce. In answer, He referred to the passage of Scripture about the creation and union of male and female: “’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.”

The marriage union was ordained by God. From the beginning man was instructed to leave his family so that he could be joined to his wife. The Greek word for “join” means “to glue or cement together, stick to, adhere to, join firmly.” The joining together of a man and a woman in marriage implies permanency. The fact that God joined them together reinforces the concept (Mark 10:9).

When the two become one, unity is established, unity in spirit and in flesh. The God-witnessed union is to remain through joy and adversity, with husband and wife committed to each other and to their Creator.

Mark