For Wives

As recipients of God’s love, we have all tasted His kindness. Is it not right that we graciously extend that same kindness to others? How much more ought we to be kind to our spouse! Far too many wives and husbands may claim to love their spouses, but they are not always kind to them on a daily basis.

In a perfect world, free from sin, we would not have to handle the difficult topic of divorce. But we live in a world cursed by man’s disobedience and rebellion. In the Garden of Eden where God instituted marriage, it was established as a covenant between a man and a woman for life. Many, many years later, when answering a question regarding divorce, the Lord Jesus stated very clearly that “from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8).

The enduring love of a strong marriage is the committed love that the Bible describes as ἀγάπη (agape) love. This is the love that is translated as “charity” in I Corinthians 13. Agape love is a covenant love that keeps on loving in spite of changing circumstances. It is a mature love, a love that is made stronger by the storms of life, a love that endures the test of time, and a love that is purified and refined by the passage of decades.

For a married couple, effectual and fervent prayer is one of the greatest gifts that a husband and wife can give to each other. The Bible highlights the united prayer of a husband and wife and the importance of covenant marriage as it relates to prayer in I Peter 3:7. “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”

Many couples have found that the marriage years slip past with increasing and alarming rapidity. Oftentimes, young couples on their honeymoon assume that they will have an entire lifetime to spend in each other’s company. But the realities of life soon crowd in. Career and home pressures consume time and attention. Friends and family make their demands upon a couple’s time. Even church events, as good and edifying as they might be, can encroach upon valuable time that a couple might spend together.

There are some clear Biblical indications that, although marriage as an institution is limited to life here on earth, even temporal marriages have an eternal impact. This precious truth can be a comfort to those who have lost their partner through death and are now awaiting the joyous day of reunion in a world of endless bliss and joy in the presence of our eternal Bridegroom.

Psalm 45 presents a glowing picture of a royal wedding between the King and His Bride. Furthermore, although Psalm 45 is set as a royal wedding, Hebrews 1:8 makes it clear that this is a Messianic psalm that speaks of the royal wedding of Christ and His Bride.

There was a day when Abraham laid his wife Sarah in the grave. In the touching account of Abraham’s purchase of a burial plot, he “came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her” (Genesis 23:2). No matter how expected the death, how long the life, or how bright the hope of the resurrection, it remains a sad, sorrowful blow to the heart of a man or a woman when the closest bond on earth is severed by our last enemy.

Have you ever noticed that the word complementary is related to the word complete? Eve was the perfect complement of Adam. She was many things that he was not and she helped him fulfill God’s purposes. She made him truly a “whole man” and he was no longer alone, having now a companion for life. He had found his complementary match, and he was now complete.

Often marriage problems don’t come from a couple’s issues with each other — the root cause is a breakdown in an individual spouse’s personal relationship with God!

In Scripture, we see that the purpose of marriage is something much bigger than just two people — it's meant to be a picture of Christ and the Church. But what's a picture for? Something that created to express the real thing!

Every important relationship in life must be built on loyalty. Marriages must be based on this quality, or they will not survive. Leaders look for this quality as a primary qualification for those who serve.

When your heart is desperate, it’s hard to simply pray a quick, soft prayer—you are more likely to cry out with emotion and passion! God promises to hear these cries for help, to work and to receive glory for rescuing us in the midst of despair. “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” (Psalm 50:15).