A believing wife

1 Corinthians 9:5 Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?

For the past week I have been a bachelor. My wife Pam has been in St. Louis attending a Stephen Ministry Leadership training course. I am not the only one that misses Pam. Our cat Kiah is a bit out of sorts.  So, I have a clingy cat to keep me company. My other blessing this week has been spending time with my daughter Kate. We did okay, and did not eat too much bad food. Although there was that lunch at Five Guys......

If we take the Apostle Paul literally we miss half of the meaning. By that I mean a man takes a believing wife along, and a woman takes a believing husband along. There is a wonderful blessing when your spouse is a believer. The joy of sharing the love of Christ with someone that you love is one of the Lord's true blessing in life and in marriage. There are many ways that this blesses each person in a faith based marriage. We know that our faith, a gift of God our Father, flows out from His Spirit. We are reminded of the fruit of the Spirit when we look to Galatians 5:22&23. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  In a marriage that has faith in Jesus Christ as a cornerstone, there is an element of love and stability that others do not have. The fruit of the Spirit in a marriage is a bountiful harvest of all the elements of a healthy marriage listed in Galatians 5:22& 23. The opportunity to share not just your love, but also the love of Christ with your spouse is simply awesome. The opportunities to reinforce each other's faith is an essential element of a healthy marriage. The time spent in study of the Word is precious for a couple. The blessing of someone who is there to help hold you accountable in your faith is reassuring. And the true blessing in that part of the relationship is that each party is there to help the other. If the husband is struggling, the wife is there to support. If the wife is struggling, the husband is there for her. And if both are having a difficult time, they can commiserate with each other and be reminded of the the love of God for all in their study of His Word. The blessing of a faith-based marriage is one which I personally hold dear. Not all marriages are faith-based and for that my prayers go out for those who are not joined in faith. Friends of the risen Savior, let us all lift up the lives of our married friends and pray that someday all marriages will come to be based in a relationship of love of each other and a love of our Savior Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Most Merciful God, thank You for the blessing of marriage. You bless us in marriage with someone to share our lives, our love, and our faith. For that blessing we give thanks O Lord. Father, we pray that You would pour Your Spirit into the lives of all who are married. Let Your love fill each partner in marriage with the fruit of the Spirit. And Lord, we ask that by Your will all marriages will come to be based on faith in You, and a love for Your Son Jesus Christ. We ask this in the name of Your Son Who loved us first. Amen.