A Spiritual Lesson In Toon Language: Lesson 44a

Topic: Life Sentence: Marriage Part I : The Beginning

Series: Darkwing Duck

Episode: Night Of The Living Spud

Lesson PDF link: 44a.pdf

Introduction

This is the start of a very in-depth look at the biblical meaning of marriage. Through this multi-part lesson called 'Life Sentence', we see that Jesus commands us to have life and have it in abundance. This means when you find a relationship that might turn into marriage, there are some do's and don'ts of first finding a special person and then keeping it holy. This lesson shows definitely one of the things not to do. We use the Darkwing Duck episode "Night Of The Living Spud" to portray one of the major flaws in human courtship ' trying to force a relationship that doesn't have a chance.

Scriptures used include: Scriptures Used Include: John 10: 7-10, Genesis 2: 7-8; 18-24

First, we have a Bible Point for this lesson series.

The Bible States In John 10: 7-10:

7 Therefore Jesus said again, 'Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Simply put, if we follow the ways of Jesus, we will have a rich life in Him; this undoubtedly will include building good marriages. These become life-binding and life-altering choices (choices that affect the rest of one's life).

Today, we are opening up a series of lessons discussing relationships; especially the ones that most likely turn into marriages. What, in your opinion, is a marriage?

According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, marriage is defined as:

I) The state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a legal, consensual, and contractual relationship recognized and sanctioned by and dissolvable only by law

II) The ceremony containing certain legal formalities by which a marriage relationship is created

In other words, in a marriage relationship, you would be entering into a formal contract of a relationship. It is much more than a contract however, because there are a bunch of things that will test even the strongest of these relationships.

The one thing I can say about marriage though is that you don't want to be like this cartoon character we are going to look at right now.

Cartoon Clip: "Night Of The Living Spud":

What did you see in this clip? What is wrong with Bushroot's idea of growing his own bride? From the beginning of time, God had other ideas besides us growing our life partner.

The Bible States In Genesis 2: 7-8; 18-24

Ge 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Ge 2:8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Ge 2:18 The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'

Ge 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Ge 2:20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

Ge 2:21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.

Ge 2:22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Ge 2:23 The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man.'

Ge 2:24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

God married Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This was the first marriage. They became one flesh as the Bible says.

The problem with our villain is that he was trying to play god. Being the mad scientist that he is, he wants to make things that only God can make. Only God makes male and female and the animals and nature and no one else. When we try to mess with this we are in violation of God's way.

Sure, we are mostly a lonely people. This is a hole in our life that only God can fill. If you look at this closely, God intended this hole to be there so that we would look to Him, so He fills in that hole with someone special.

Marriage is a formal relationship between a man and a woman with a very strict, but awesome promise. Do you know what this is?

When a marriage happens, the couple is asked formally in front of God, friends, and family if they will love each other no matter what, to have and to hold each other, to cherish one another. This includes in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better and for worse. This formal promise or vow is for the life of the couple''til death do they part.

This is no easy task since in the here and now most marriages don't go well in the end. We will talk more about that in later lessons. When a marriage happens, it is a big physical and spiritual deal. Marriage should not be taken lightly as a lot of people do nowadays.

If you are thinking about marrying that special someone or you haven't found that special someone, start praying for God's way to come to pass. I'm married now, but before I married Bonnie, I prayed a lot for my life partner to come and love me through this ministry, I asked God to give me a pure girl, that she would fall in love with me while a student of these lessons, I asked for her to be godly and I asked that we would work together in this ministry. God gave me Bonnie (who did all of these things). We are a wonderful match and this will continue through our lives. A marriage will be a huge milestone for anyone although quite common. Marriage is God's way in relationships when more intimate closeness and life is desired. Although, once this choice is made in its formal way, it cannot be undone except with very few godly options. This has to be taken into account before the vows and the life that follows afterward.

Although we cannot make our mate like our villain attempted to do, I believe God has that special someone in store for anyone that will pray in faith and that God wills to marry someone. Then the marriage between the two will have the greatest odds of working. What have we learned today and how will we apply it to our lives?