My question is: my son left the church because some christians hurt him; now he says he won’t have anything to do with christians, but I’ve been praying for two years.  He still doesn’t let go of the hurt.  I'm standing on God’s promises that He will save all my family; do you think my son will come to God?

Sincerely,
A Mother’s Worry

Dear A Mother’s Worry,

You can influence your son’s life, but he has the freedom to choose or refuse God.  Your example will have an effect on your son (Pr 22:6), and you should continue to pray (Pr 15:29) and be a preserving salt in his life (Matt 5:13).  We are so sorry for the heartache you are going through because of your son’s choices (Pr 10:1).  Hopefully, he will repent some day and return to the Lord, but ultimately, that choice will be up to him.

I have an important question to ask.  I am in a wheelchair, and I’m disabled.  I am in a nursing home now, but I’m getting out of here soon, and I’m getting my own apartment.  The thing is, I cant live by myself because I’m not able to fully take care of myself.  I met a woman that wants to live with me and take care of me for the rest of my life.  I do love her very much, but I can’t get married to her.  The reason why is because I’m on social security disability benefits.  I will lose all my social security disability benefits if I get married.  Will I be living in sin if we live together the rest of my life?  Will I be living a ungodly life?  What if we had a sexual relationship while living together?  Will I be living an ungodly and sinful life?  Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,
Wondering On Wheels

Dear Wondering On Wheels,

There is a reason that the marriage vows include the words "for richer or for poorer".  We can certainly sympathize with your difficult financial circumstances, but living together without getting married is always a sin.  God promises that if we trust Him and do what is right, He will always take care of us (Rom 8:28).  If you truly love this woman and want to get married, then you should both count the cost and just say, “I do”.  No matter what, it would be ungodly to have sexual relations outside of marriage (1 Cor 7:2).

I have married a man whom I think may suffer from narcissism.  At the least, he is not saved.  This has caused him to make some really bad decisions, and now he has gotten hurt from going into the army at an older age.  I could go on and on about his mistakes… no point in that.  What I need to know is what do I do now?  Everyone, including my pastor, says to divorce him.  However, I find no peace in that because I cannot see where laziness, foolishness, etc. are grounds for divorce.  Please advise.

Sincerely,
Wife Under Duress

Dear Wife Under Duress,

You are right to not divorce him.  The Bible specifically says that the only reason you would have a right to divorce him is if adultery had been committed (Matt 19:9).  Since your husband is an unbeliever, the Bible also says that you can accept a divorce from him if he seeks one (1 Cor 7:12-15).  As long as he wants to stay married, you should continue to allow your influence to make a difference in his life.  It is very alarming that a pastor in your church would teach that it is okay to divorce your husband when the Scriptures are so clear on this issue.  We are very sorry that you are going through such an immense struggle at this time.  If you would like help finding a faithful preacher or congregation in your area to get some counseling from, we would be happy to help try and locate one for you.  Our e-mail is askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

My mom is going through depression; she was just in a breakup with her boyfriend.  She wants a life, but she thinks by just praying, God will help her.  I told her He can if He wants, but God wants to see her do it on her own, and He's not going to help her if she's not going to do the footwork to get her life back.  Question is, was I wrong in telling her that? Because I need to get her back to being the mother and woman she was.

Sincerely,
Worried Child

Dear Worried Child,

God will bless your mother when she chooses to search after righteousness.  God says that He draws near to us when we draw near to Him (1 Jn 1:6-7).  Christ said that all who seek God should “ask, seek, and knock” if they want to receive God’s help (Matt 7:7).  God freely offers the gift of salvation to all mankind (Rom 6:23), but we have to want it and ask for it.  Jesus told all His disciples to take up their crosses and follow after Him (Matt 16:24).  We cannot live ungodly lives and expect God to bless us in those choices (Rom 6:1-2).  You are absolutely correct in telling your mother that God has expectations.

I know that the Bible says that God is with us every step of the way, that He knows what we think, is concerned for us, and what we encounter. However, is God really with us literally every step of the way in our journey of life?

Sincerely,
Looking Over My Shoulder

Dear Looking Over My Shoulder,

There is no specific verse that says God is with us "every step of the way".  However, He does know our hearts (Acts 1:24) and even knows the number of hairs on our heads (Lk 12:7).  We are not sure what you mean by "literally", but yes, God is literally aware of our hearts and lives every second of every day – He even has angels report to Him about our activities (Matt 18:10).