Divorce & the Christian, Part 2: Children

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. (1 Cor. 7:12-14)

I cannot explain this text other than the obvious; unbelievers are sanctified if they stay married to believers. The children are also sanctified if “unevenly yoked” parents stay together. The opposite is also true; the children would be unclean if the parents are divorced.

I have heard of all kinds of examples where the bad news did not happen. However, we should not make rules of behavior from experience, especially when the good experience is the exception. Children of divorce are candidates for all kinds of trouble.

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