IF YOU

by Gregory Kirschmann

If you
believe denying marriage to a relationship
will prevent love

If you
demand any committed relationship
has to be called marriage

If you
claim rights and benefits can only be acquired
by a imposition on marriage

If you
equate the diversity of two genders
with the redundancy of same genders

If you
desecrate the sacred tradition of all major religions
and violate the historic practice of every single culture in history

If you
believe a fundamental change to the building block of society
will have absolutely no effect

If you
think a law can change
the reality of crucial distinctions in relationships

If you
pretend duplicating sexuality
is the same as blending masculinity and femininity

If you
condemn some children to parents of only one gender
and deliberately deny some children one natural parent

If you
ignore the design of sexual union
to manipulate a harmful act

If you
violate evolution's law of reproduction
to equate a genetic dead end

If you
risk the healthiest human relationship
to include one of the unhealthiest

If you
parallel the sole birthplace of every other relationship
with one that can reproduce none

If you
dilute all these things
down to just 'a committed relationship of two people'

Then, and only then, can you equate same-sex unions with marriage.

A COMPLEMENTING MARRIAGE

Genesis 2:18 (MSG) GOD said, "It's not good for the Man to be alone; I'll make him a helper, a companion."

Do you realize that God made Adam, took 'him' apart, and then put 'them' back together as one in marriage? You might say that what was originally a simple life form became a much more complex union! God designed husband and wife to be 'accessories' that complement each other.
I love what the definition of complement explains;
1. something that completes or makes perfect
2. the quantity or amount that completes anything
3. either of two parts or things needed to complete the whole; counterpart.
4. full quantity or amount; complete allowance.

To complement is to provide something felt to be lacking or needed. It is often applied to putting together two things, each of which supplies what is lacking in the other, to make a complete whole.

To supplement is merely to add to. A same-sex union can only supplement what is already primarily a duplication. The diversity of marriage is as some have graphically described, the union of Mars and Venus.

Another interesting distinction is the difference between complement and compliment. While they are pronounced alike and originally shared some meanings, they have become separate words with entirely different meanings.
compliment
1. an expression of praise, commendation, or admiration.
2. a formal act or expression of civility, respect, or regard.
3. compliments, a courteous greeting; good wishes; regards: He sends you his compliments.
4. Archaic; a gift.

So to complement is 'to complete, round out', where compliment is 'to praise or admire'. You might say that when we compliment our mate, we end up also complementing them. I like that!

It is important to note that the Antonyms of compliment is: blame, censure, complaint, criticism, denunciation, insult, libel, slander. How we fail God's design and purpose when we criticize our marriage instead of complimenting it in a way that complements each other!

I have marveled over the years that of all the counsel Paul could have given husbands and wives, he simply emphasizes a single instruction to each. Listen to how forcefully he states it; Ephesians 5:33 (NASB) Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Husbands, how can you look good on your wife? Listen to how Paul explains it; “love his own wife even as himself.” Did anyone ever tell you how to love yourself? Probably not. We men tend to naturally do that pretty well...

Early in my marriage, a wise friend counseled me when my wife and I were struggling. At the end of our time together, I very humbly but magnanimously asked him to confront me if he ever noticed me being insensitive to my wife. His words were iron sharpening iron. “If you love her, I won't have to.”
I don't have to wake up in the morning and think about how to love myself. It's just there. If you are one with your wife, loving her ought to just be there too. You are on her like a clothing accessory, complementing her, because everything you do has her in mind. I like to use the word 'cherish' because it encompasses the awareness of great value.
Most people forget about the husband in Proverbs 31. What was he doing? Standing at the gate bragging about his wife.
Please be aware, this is a 'task' that is never finished. Partly because wives don't want it to ever be finished... But mostly because wives are a unique gift that God gives us fresh every day. Sandy is not the girl I married thirty-five years ago. Everyday I am challenged to be a accessory that matches the fresh surprise and gift of who she is today.

How does a wife complement her husband?

There might be a few wives reading this who say nothing they are goes with their husband. What a wonderful place to be! You have been specially chosen by God to model a new fashion! God intends for your marriage to stand out! You even have the Holy Spirit to daily assist you in making your 'accessory' work. Where people say, “I never thought they would go together... but it works. I like it!”

First, cut out the complaining and replace it with compliments.
If you want to have a happy marriage, learn the art of the compliment. Someone said, “Compliments are like magnets, and the more you compliment your husband the more he will be attracted to you.”
There have been times in my life where I as a man was 'beside myself'. I would look over and think, I can't stand being next to this guy. I can honestly say there is not one time I can remember experiencing Sandy agreeing with me.
It is specifically at those times that the complement of a honoring wife moves a man to virtue. You might say that a wife possess from God the only seed that grows great men.
The power of this principle is reflected in a negative way in the story of Abigail's dishonor of her husband Nabal resulting in his death (I Sam 25).
A friend of mine showed up one time at a church event wearing a red plaid shirt with camouflage pants. I asked him who in the world told him that goes together. He didn't think I was funny. I wasn't trying to be funny, it hurt my eyes.
We live in a time where marriage is not fashionable any more. How we need husbands and wives who are profoundly striking complements of each other!

GOD WITH US

In 2005 my family and I moved to Tennessee. For our two sons, it was a traumatic move from the place of their birth. The only place and people they had ever known. My oldest was just entering his senior year (very unhappy...), and my youngest was just entering the teen years.

We had to leave a wonderful German Shepherd/Rhodesian mix dog named Rusty behind. Sandy and I figured another dog would be a good thing. We were looking for a smaller dog that might survive Sandy's clean-freak fanaticism (You might say Ken's recent fake/real house illustration hit 'home').

The first ad we answered was the last Schnauzer puppy, a female runt, of a sweet lady named Joyce. It was the first litter of her dog, and she felt like she was selling her grand kids. We were not sure if she was buying us, or we were buying her dog... Somehow we both ended up satisfied, but she would be checking up on us!

That was Saturday. On Sunday, we went to the Church we had just decided to attend. Greeting us at the door was, you guessed it, Joyce. We all felt the 'click' of a cool celestial conspiracy.

We moved to Dillsburg a few months ago. On our third visit to MRC, we had just sat down, when a lady I had never seen before came bounding across the sanctuary. With this great big smile she said, “HI! I can't believe you are here! It is so good to see you!”

I grabbed Sandy's hand and was ready to swear I did not know this woman. Noticing my terrified face, Connie quickly explained that she was our next door neighbor and had seen me in the yard with our Schnauzer. Out of our huge community, with hundreds of churches, our next door neighbors 'happened' to attend MRC. Once again, in a brand new place, Sandy and I noted another celestial 'circumstance'.

Don't get me wrong, but it wasn't Joyce and Connie that were important in those events. They are both really wonderful ladies! But it was who was standing behind them, clear as could be, in those moments. Immanuel. God with us.

In both places, at both times, through both ladies, He brought peace on our earth and joy to our world.

Because of Immanuel, we have, and wish you a truly Merry Christmas!

Virgin Nativity

Isaiah 7:11, 14 (NLT) “Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation... Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead.” Wow! What a challenge! Do you want confirmation about something? Ask for any sign you can imagine. But the offer is deferred. So God takes up His own challenge; Isaiah 7:14 ...the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’). For thousands of years Jews have pondered the challenge avoided by Ahaz, but forced by God. A sign 'as high as heaven or as deep as hell'. A pregnant virgin? Everyone knew that was silly impossible. For thousands of years. Of course there have always been girls who could not understand how their pregnancy occurred. And yes, there have been myths about sex with gods. But never did pregnancy and virginity go together in any of these incidents. Sensible people knew. Until God stated His own sign. The sign will be a virgin birth. And until Joseph and Mary. For the first time, someone had the audacity to claim impregnation by God... and still be a virgin. Luke 1: 26-38 (NLT) In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”  29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”  34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”  35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God... 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”  38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. And from Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT) This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.  20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:  23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!       She will give birth to a son,    and they will call him Immanuel,       which means ‘God is with us.’”  24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. Oh, scoffers with sly smirks mocked believers on that one! For the last two thousand years smart people knowingly acknowledged the claim as a 'symbolic' story... or less. All believers could do was quote the Angel, “With God, all things are possible.” Right... Until the early 1940s. Thousands of years after the sign was pronounced, nearly two thousand years after the sign was fulfilled, artificial insemination was first successfully performed on a human. The possibility of a virgin bearing a child was scientifically proved. Science finally caught up with the sign. Now a sign always is less that the event it validates. But this, this was not a small sign. It was a sign 'as high as heaven, as low as hell,' pronounced by God Himself! What event on earth could be greater than a sign like that? Nothing on earth. Only Immanuel. God with us.

Lovers In A Dangerous Time by Bruce Cockburn

Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by You never get to stop and open your eyes One day you're waiting for the sky to fall The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all When you're lovers in a dangerous time Lovers in a dangerous time These fragile bodies of touch and taste This vibrant skin -- this hair like lace Spirits open to the thrust of grace Never a breath you can afford to waste When you're lovers in a dangerous time Lovers in a dangerous time Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight When you're lovers in a dangerous time Lovers in a dangerous time And we're lovers in a dangerous time Lovers in a dangerous time My favorite lines? “Lovers in a dangerous time” “Spirits open to the thrust of grace” “kick at the darkness until it bleeds light”

Marriage, A Love Marathon

My own opinion is that [love] is felt most completely in marriage, or some comparable attachment of long duration. Love takes time. What are called "love affairs" may afford a wide, and in retrospect, illuminating variety of emotions; not only fierce satisfactions and swooning delights, but the horrors of jealousy and the desperation of parting attend them; the hangover from one of these emotional riots may be long and dreadful. But rarely have the pleasures of love an opportunity to manifest themselves in such riots of passion. Love affairs are for emotional sprinters; the pleasures of love are for the emotional marathoners. Robertson Davies

Legalizing Murder and Sodomy

It is asserted by many that in these modern sophisticated times, we are the first society to venture where previous cultures have been restrained by ignorance and bigotry. Through a perverted manipulation of the legal system and a growing cultural immorality, we have not only 'legalized' the murder of children but are now in the process of desecrating marriage. But are we the first society to assert these 'rights' and establish 'laws' regarding them? This is a deadly farce based on arrogance and denial. You are not going where no culture has gone before, you are following a course that has destroyed every culture on that same path. Leviticus 18:1-3 (NASB) 1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'I am the LORD your God. 3 ~'You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. Please note that the word 'statutes' means, something prescribed, an enactment, statute:--New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Simply put; A formal law of the culture. The question then becomes, what were those old 'laws' that God prohibited? A list concludes with three; Leviticus 18:21-23 (NASB) 21 ~'You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. 22 ~'You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. 23 ~'Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion. Simply put, those were laws legally allowing child sacrifice, sodomy and beastality. What is the consequence of a society legally embracing those things? Leviticus 18:24-25 (NASB) 24 'Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. 25 ~'For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. I know you claim these words are not words of God, but simply words of man, distorted by translations and time. To me, however, they are then, all the more poignant. How is it that words of fiction expose repeated history and affirm your arrogance? You are determined to repeat the perversion of law, but deny the historic reality of it's consequences.