Charlton Rhinehart

Myself along with many others have been challenged to write on the benefits of a Christian life by the website, The Preacher’s Favorite Passage, www.thepfp.net. As I thought through the many blessings I wanted to write about, the blessing of a Christian life that I am choosing to write on is the blessing of a Christian spouse.

I first want to say that while a Christian spouse is huge factor in a Christian’s life, I realize that it is something not everyone has. Paul was one who was thankful he was not married or obligated to care for a family so that he could devote more time in work to the Lord (1 Cor 7:7), shame on any eldership today that sets the requirement that a minister be married. I also realize that many Christians are already married to someone who is not a Christian, to such Paul gives commands from the Lord, and challenges them to be the right example (1 Cor 7:10-16). There are also those who because of unscriptural divorce, are not permitted to remarry (Matt 19:9), to them I give some of my greatest respect. Brothers and sisters, be cautious who you choose to marry.

That being said, I truly believe that one of the greatest blessings of a Christian life is having a Christian spouse. The spouse you choose is someone you shape the majority of your life around. That person by their input and your agreement with one another will likely affect where you live, what future jobs you choose, what you do for fun, even what you eat will be a regular compromise with that individual. A person’s character who is this involved in your life is important; here are three traits that make a Christian spouse such a blessing.

A Christian spouse is one you can trust. With such a huge commitment of your own life devoted to one person, trust is mandatory. The Christian character is built around honesty, faithfulness and trust, just as God has been towards us. A secular marriage is also built on these things, but as we know, these attributes in a person often fail. While the same failure can happen in a Christian, just knowing that a person has a commitment to God that they have been faithful to, gives the promise of these aspects so much more meaning. To know that there is a commitment not only toward you from your spouse, but also an obligation they hold sacred before God to be faithful to you. To know that there is not merely a promise to be faithful to you, but that person strives to keep Christ’ command to not even let their heart stray from you alone. To know your spouse stands for the New Covenant’s teaching, that divorce and remarriage is not an option, but only for one reason. While the occurrence of divorce in the church has long been said to be the same as the world, several articles lately have been published  revealing that the divorce rate inside churches are actually much lower than the world. I dare say that divorce of faithful members in the Lord’s true church is very uncommon.  What a blessing to trust your spouse is not only faithful to their vows, but also in every word and to God.

A Christian spouse is an encouragement to your walk with Christ. A Christian’s life is built around service and labor for the Lord, love of His church and the treasure where our heart is, in the Lord. Our joy, our passion, our hope is invested in the kingdom of God, which is the church. You know the feeling that we have when a person we know begins showing interest in the gospel, things such as this is our purpose and joy. I cannot imagine being married to someone I could not share those feelings of hope with when I get home each day! A spouse more than anything is someone you relate to, someone you share feelings with, the one who knows you and you pour your heart out before them.  What a blessing it is to be able share this huge portion of your life: your labors, your hope, even your disappointments of your Christian life with a person holding the same goals. This is the difference in hoping your spouse will allow you to spare some money or time to give to God, or the spouse who is there by your side making a sacrifice along with you in the kingdom. Perhaps this is part of the reason why the most important role in the church, that of an elder, requires a faithful wife (1 Tim 3:2, 11; Titus 1:6). A Christian spouse is a huge blessing of encouragement.

A Christian spouse is a friend forever. We have deep love for the one we marry, even when the beauty of youth fades, often the friendship and bond in a marriage becomes far more valuable with time. It is only natural that someone so close to us would be the one who we are most concerned for their eternal home. As the earthly wedding vows many of us quoted tell us, “until death do we part,” a Christian couple has the assurance they will meet again. Jesus plainly tells us that, “…in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage…” (Matt 22:30 NASB). While our relationship there may be much different, better in ways our human minds cannot yet comprehend, what a blessing it is to know your husband or wife will be there in eternity with you. A Christian spouse is a blessing to know of the assurance you have for the one you love so much.

When God created man, He said “…it is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him,” (Gen 2:18). A spouse is a helper, a helper in the challenges of life, and the greatest blessing of a spouse is a Christian spouse, a Christian helper. Christ chose this Holy relationship to compare His church to, the church which is made up of those He saved. Obviously this relationship is a blessing, and a Christian spouse is a fulfillment of that blessing.  I thank God for my Christian wife, God’s design for marriage and family.