Finding Contentment as a Military WifeSýnishorn

Serving Your Husband

As military wives, it feels like we serve and serve and serve our husbands. It’s all too easy to think we shouldn’t have to love him extravagantly and sacrificially when we’re exhausted because we just followed him across the country again (or whatever else the sacrifice)!

However, our service toward our spouse is not conditional. Jesus modeled the necessity of lovingly and sacrificially serving those around us. He didn’t do it for thanks, applause, self-worth, or to increase His tally of good acts. He did it because He loved God and wanted to honor His Father, not because he was subservient. So, when we serve our spouses, it’s helpful to remember that we’re ultimately worshipping God by how we love our husbands.

Even if your husband’s heart isn’t inclined to serve you the same way, you’re still maturing in your faith and pointing your spouse to Jesus as you use the opportunity to grow into the likeness of Christ. When I focus on the Lord instead of my marital scoreboard, the Holy Spirit gives me the capability to serve my husband, Tim, with an open heart, leaving the tally-marking pen on the table. It no longer becomes about Tim acknowledging the good I’m doing because I know God feels honored with my work—whether that’s faithfully changing a dirty diaper, cleaning the bathrooms, leading a homeschool lesson, writing an article, raking the leaves, or taking out the trash.

The Secret to a Rewarding Marriage

During Jesus’s life, two groups of Jewish religious leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, wanted Jesus dead with vehement passion. They lived their entire lives to uphold God’s rules, but tragically, they missed the whole point. The Hope of the world stood right before them, yet their hardened hearts couldn’t soften to the Savior. Instead, beliefs and desires blinded them.

One day, the Pharisees intentionally tried to trap Jesus into saying something to negate God’s law. They needed to create a reason to accuse Jesus before the Roman government, validating their request for His execution. A pharisaic lawyer asked Jesus which of God’s commandments was the greatest. Jesus told them to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37–40).

The Greek word Jesus uses for “love” is agapaó, which means “to love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem.” Nine times across Scripture, God tells us to love our neighbor using agapaó-type love. And who is your most intimate neighbor? Right—your spouse. Jesus also tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

If you want to experience the most purposeful, intentional, rewarding marriage, it comes down to loving God and loving your closest neighbor—the person you married. Living life the way Jesus lived is essential to our peace and joy.

Thank you for reading!

This plan was adapted from Mission-Ready Marriage: A Christian Guide to Discovering Hope and Purpose as a Military Wife by author Ashley Ashcraft. Click here to learn more or purchase your copy.
www.missionreadymarriage.com