Topic: Prescription Versus Permission [Charles Stanley Daily Devotional 18 November 2020]
Click HERE for Previous Devotional
Prescription Versus Permission
NOVEMBER 18, 2020
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart [Moses] wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’”
Mark 10:5-6
Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 24:1-4
Most people are familiar with the piece of paper issued by a doctor and carried to a pharmacist: a prescription. Prescription comes from a Latin word meaning “to direct in writing.” A doctor writes directions for the pharmacist which are then passed on to the patient: “Take one pill three times per day.”
But prescription is not to be confused with permission. Moses permitted Israelites to file for divorce because they were rejecting God’s prescription that marriage was to be permanent. Divorced women were cast aside with no protections. So Moses outlined how divorce was to be handled by men (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). God prescribed life-long marriage; Moses permitted men to divorce their wives because of the hardness of men’s hearts. But with the coming of mercy and grace in Jesus Christ came the covering for it all: forgiveness. God’s grace covers all the mistakes and wrong decisions we could ever make.
If you have been through a divorce, thank God for His grace. His open arms of love and forgiveness are there for all who come to Him.
The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.
William Blake
SHARE THIS DEVOTIONAL:
Read-Thru-the-Bible: Acts 16 – 17