Fighting For Your Marriage – Part 4

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 1 Peter 3:1-2

A shared faith is the glue that will hold your marriage together in times of trouble. But when one spouse is an unbeliever, it can be difficult for the other. Concerning marriage, Jesus said, ‘What…God hath joined together, let not man put asunder’ (Matthew 19:6). Notice the words, ‘What God hath joined together.’ Any relationship God puts together can go the distance. Speaking about a wife whose husband has died, Paul writes, ‘She is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 7:39). When your spouse doesn’t share your faith, you can find yourselves tugging on opposite ends of the rope. Paul asks, ‘How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?’ (2 Corinthians 6:15). The old country preacher put it bluntly: ‘Any time a child of God marries a child of the devil, they’re going to have trouble with their father-in-law!’ Now, that doesn’t mean you should love your unbelieving partner less. Actually, it means you should love them more! Speaking of unbelieving spouses, Peter writes, ‘Even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your…lives.’ There’s preventative medicine and there’s corrective medicine. When Paul says not to marry an unbeliever, he’s using preventative medicine. When Peter speaks about living with an unbeliever and winning them to Christ through your love and your lifestyle, he’s using corrective medicine. At the end of the day, there’s only one thing that’s guaranteed to work: ‘Love never fails’ (1 Corinthians 13:8). So fight for your marriage!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, keep me faithful in loving my partner! In Jesus’ Name, Amen