Day 19 – Covenant faithfulness, child-like trust

Opening Prayer

Father, speak with clarity and kindness today—strengthen marriages, heal the wounded, and teach me childlike trust in Christ.

Headline

Jesus reaffirms God’s good purpose for marriage, exposes hard hearts, and welcomes helpless children into his kingdom.

Mark 10:1-16

10 Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them.

² Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. ¹² And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

¹³ People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Comment

Mark brings us to a moment that is both tender and confronting. Jesus is on the move again, and the crowds gather—as they always do. But the Pharisees step forward with a question “to test him”: “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” (v.2) This is not a sincere request for wisdom; it’s a trap. And Jesus refuses to be dragged into their game.

Instead, he takes them behind the legal debates and back into the Bible story—to creation itself. Moses’ provision (Jesus says) was “because your hearts were hard.” (v.5) In other words, divorce belongs to life in a fallen world. It exists because sinners fail. But that is not the same thing as God’s original intention. So Jesus holds up the Creator’s will “from the beginning” (v.6) : husband and wife joined, becoming “one flesh,” (v.7) and a clear warning: don’t tear apart what God has joined. (v.8)

That matters, because it means Jesus is doing more than winning an argument. He is calling us to honour the goodness of marriage—not cynically, not casually, not as a disposable contract, but as a profound gift meant for faithful, lifelong love. And at the same time, he is realistic about the tragedy of brokenness. Hard hearts do real damage. The Bible never treats divorce as light, or painless, or merely “paperwork.” (If you’ve lived through it—or love someone who has—Jesus’ seriousness here will feel both sobering and strangely compassionate.)

Then Mark places a seemingly unrelated scene right beside it: people bring little children to Jesus, and the disciples try to manage access—sending them away. But Jesus is indignant. He welcomes them, blesses them, and says something easy to misunderstand: “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (v.15)

It’s not a sentimental compliment about children’s innocence. The point is their helplessness. Very young children come with no achievements, no leverage, no “credits.” They simply receive. And Jesus says: that is how anyone enters the kingdom—empty-handed, dependent, asking for mercy.

So today, hear both lessons together: honour God’s good design—and come to Jesus with nothing to prove.

Reflect

• What would it look like to honour marriage (in your own life, or in how you support others) with both truth and tenderness?
• Where do you see “hardness of heart” at work—shutting down repentance, forgiveness, listening, or humility?
• What would it mean for you today to receive God’s kingdom like a child: empty-handed, dependent, asking?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you that you speak truthfully about what we often fear to face. Strengthen marriages among us with patience, repentance, forgiveness, and steadfast love. Bring comfort and healing where there has been deep hurt. Save us from hard hearts—especially my own. And teach me to come to you like a child: not negotiating, not performing, just receiving your grace. Thank you that you welcome the small, the weak, and the needy. Amen.