Help Your Spouse Flourish

Whenever Christians talk about the Bible’s teaching on marriage, we almost always go to the different roles for wives and husbands. This, then, causes discomfort: Wives struggle with the idea of submitting and husbands often with the idea of leading in the home.

 

Yet, what if we had a different starting point? What if we first focus on the Creation Mandate from Genesis 1:28? “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” As we have been learning in Sunday morning sermons, the verb, “subdue,” speaks of organizing and bringing into order so that the world, living creatures, and especially the God-imaging worshipers (humans) who are filling the world are flourishing and experiencing God’s true and abundant life. This mandate applies to how husbands and wives relate to each other. So, what if our starting point is that we want to help our spouse flourish? 

 

What would it involve to help your spouse flourish?

 

1. Love and respect them (Eph. 5:1-2, 25, 32; Col. 3:14; 1 Peter 4:8).

 

2. Make it your goal that they grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through drawing closer to Him as they practice the habits of grace, and pray for them to this end (Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 5:25-27; 6:10-19; James 5:16). Occasionally share with each other how you are doing in your walk with Christ.

 

3. Pray for them and look for ways to make sure that they have ample opportunities to serve the Lord and others through their spiritual gifts, to the glory of the Lord (1 Peter 4:10-11). 

 

4. Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through bearing with them and forgiving them as needed (Col. 3:13, 17).

 

5. Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16) and then relating to your spouse out of what wisdom (3:18-19). 

 

6. Learn to listen to your spouse before you respond and/or make statements to them. This is part of our wisdom and love toward them (Prov. 18:13).

 

7. When it comes to the different roles husbands and wives have, view them and approach those roles as first and foremost helping them to flourish. It is part of our Christ-like love toward one another. 

 

Jesus Christ is the ultimate model of one who made it his goal to help His bride flourish. He came that we may have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). Since our marriage is to mirror and honor the relationship of the ultimate Bridegroom with His bride, set your priority in marriage to be that your spouse flourishes to the glory of God!

 

Joyously Helping Spouses Flourish As Your Joyful Pastor,

 

Tom