Some people seem to have a real knack for "pushing our buttons." You probably have someone in mind even as you read these first few sentences. Of course we're not talking about our "happy buttons" we're talking about the buttons of controversy, strife and maybe even anger. Jesus had some button pushers, they were called Pharisees. They were not religious, they used religion. They were not teachers, they were false teachers. They talked about God but they did not know Him. Their actions betrayed their real motives, they were known by their fruit. One of the ways they sought to push Jesus' buttons was by asking Him questions on controversial subjects. They asked Him about Sabbath matters, about interpretative hot buttons and, as we'll see this week, about marriage and divorce, (Matthew 19). Here we are, two millennia later and things still get heated over the following subjects. What is marriage? Is divorce ever permissible? Can a person marry someone else after they have been divorced? Is it better to remain single? Do children really matter? Wonderfully, Jesus didn't take sides with the contemporaries of His day. He simply went back to God's intention. Apparently, the rabbis had a rule, "The more original, the weightier." Jesus used their rule and said, "Have you not read...?" I smile almost every time I read that line. He was asking the so called teachers of the law if they ever remember reading the early sentences of Genesis! God's definition of marriage and His intent is relatively simple and quite clear. God made male and female. They should become one flesh. What God puts together, people should not take apart. Of course, if you reject the goodness of God, the inspiration of the Word and the brilliance of Jesus, it "makes no sense" to hold on to a 4,000 year old writing from the Prophet Moses! But, for those of us who claim to be Jesus' followers, we, of all people, should not be so vain to think we can say Jesus meant something other than what He said. If we believe Jesus is the Son of God; the express image of God's person, then we really need to take Him at His Word. Don't let anyone "push your buttons" on this. There is no need to fight, argue, hurl insults or demonstrate contempt. Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly. His teachings on marriage are God's good intentions. Our Lord came full of "grace and truth," let's walk in His steps and graciously hold the truth while inviting others to His good life.