ODJ: compatibility in Christ
November 12, 2015
READ: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers (v.14).
Get married. Make babies.” That’s the annual clarion call from the Singapore government due to a declining population challenge. As a single woman living in this small country, I know the message is targeted at me.
Marriage is a hot topic in Singapore, but it’s also something the apostle Paul lifted up in his writings. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (part of a passage rebuking the Corinthian church for courting false apostles), he presented some helpful principles for marriage. “Don’t team up” (v.14) can also be rendered “do not be yoked with unbelievers” (NIV). Paul was probably referring to Deuteronomy 22:10, “You must not plough with an ox and a donkey harnessed together” (v.10). A yoke or harness is the wooden device fitted around the necks of two animals that binds them together in service. So Paul taught that to be “yoked together with [an unbeliever]” (v.14 NIV) isn’t honouring to God and can lead to relational misery.
He went on to describe what healthy compatibility looks like in a marital relationship. When choosing a life partner, he said we should ask:
- Would we be good partners for doing what honours God?
- Could we share intimate fellowship in the light of God’s truth? (v.14).
- Is there harmony in our understanding of Jesus being our Saviour?
- Do we share a common inheritance in Him? (v.15).
- Are we both set apart for God and serving Him? (v.17).
—Poh Fang Chia
365-day-plan: Acts 22:30-23:22
Read Ephesians 5:31-32 and consider why it’s vital for a believer in Jesus to marry a person who shares the same faith.
How do you view compatibility in marriage? What other biblical principles are important to consider when choosing a life partner?
