Spiritually Grow With Your Spouse
Think back to the early days of your relationship with your spouse. Everything you did together seemed romantic, fun, and special. But as you learned more about each other, and eventually settled into a routine, those giddy feelings that marked the beginning stages of love probably turned to something much deeper. You and your spouse moved beyond the “young love” stage and into a more mature, lasting kind of love.
You and your spouse can encourage each other to grow into a mature faith. Start focusing on ways you’d like to reach out to others, like inviting them along with you to church. Along those same lines, see where you both can help out at church, and become more involved in small groups. Share your personal moments of spiritual growth with your spouse and encourage them to do the same. Together you can move toward a faith that will grow stronger every day.
There will be many times when both of you are strong spiritually and feel as though you are moving right along with no hiccups. However, there will be times when one of you is strong and the other is weak. It’s during those times that the beauty of God’s plan for marriage is clearly seen. The one who’s strong helps the one who’s weakâand the marriage is strengthened as a result.
It’s important that the one offering help do so with an attitude of love and acceptance, realizing that at some point they may need similar assistance. Paul warns about thinking you’re somehow better than someone else just because you’re strong at a particular moment. Your moment of need will come soon enough! (Galations 6:1-3)
When husband and wife understand that neither is better or “more spiritual” than the other and that both have strength to offer, they can give and receive this assistance in a way that isn’t threatening, but comforting.
Nick
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
