Partner

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.

It is traditional in conservative Christian circles that a young man seek out the blessing of the father of the girl before pursuing her hand in courtship. Is this merely a tradition? Is it an outdated formalism leftover from the Victorian age? Is it a legalistic requirement invented by pharisaical moralists? Or is there perhaps some real Biblical value in seeking and receiving the blessing of the father?

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.

How active can and should parents be in the selection and pursuit of a spouse for their children? This perplexing question has given rise to much controversy and misunderstanding among Christians. One of the chief difficulties in answering this question is that the Bible does not mandate a universal rule in the matter.

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.”

Even before you know what particular needs your future spouse will have, it is important to pray that the all-knowing Lord will prepare you to meet those needs. Long before Ruth met Boaz in the fields around Bethlehem, the Lord was already equipping Boaz with the skills, temperament, and character qualities that would make him a suitable match for Ruth. Likewise, God is now building into you the virtues that you will need to be a help meet for your spouse.

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.

“Can I be content with singleness and yet desire marriage at the same time?” or “Does one exclude the other?” God’s Word never contradicts itself. Thus, if God calls His children to contentment and simultaneously encourages His children to pursue good things, then there is no contradiction. We can apply this truth to other areas of life and then draw a few conclusions about anticipation for marriage.

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.

The gift of God to Adam was not merely someone to “meet his needs”—whether physical, emotional, or even spiritual needs. While Eve did meet many of Adam’s needs in all of these complex ways, it is God alone Who can satisfy the ultimate need of a man. Our modern world likes abbreviations and quick slang expressions. But we serve a God Who has chosen to speak to us in precise verbal expressions. To eliminate or abbreviate His chosen words leaves us with an incomplete, abbreviated idea of the wonderful reality that God intended marriage to be.

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.

Contentment is one of the rarest and most elusive of Christian virtues. To be content is to rest in the knowledge that God knows more than we know and that He is working all things together for our good.

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!

We’ve all heard the storybook tales of the prince and the maiden who married and lived “happily ever after.” When we look around our world today, it would be easy to become cynical about the possibility of a “happily ever after” marriage. Is it really possible, or are those stories just for children’s books, romance movies, and young girls’ dreams?

Could it be that faithful believers who are serving the Lord, doing good works, boldly proclaiming the truth, and standing firmly against error and compromise are actually neglecting their chief priority? Is it possible that in loving our churches, our families, and our communities, we may be neglecting to cultivate a love for the Lord Himself?

In today’s modern culture, we are bombarded with advertising. Christians who do not have a proper defense against covetousness can easily fall prey to impulsive spending. The opposite of covetousness is contentment. A contented man is a grateful man who has learned to rest in what God has provided for him, regardless of what God may have granted to others.