The Next Year of Your MarriageSample

Because God pursues me to help me mature in my faith, I promise to encourage you to grow spiritually.

What is life about?

Is it about being happy and fulfilled? Is it about fulfilling your soul, being useful, or about “making a difference”?

The Westminster Short Catechism provides one of the best answers: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” That’s our focus. That’s our mission.

We don’t need to pursue that goal in our own power, either. God’s Spirit continually works in our lives to strengthen us, build us, protect us, and fill our lives with the knowledge of His will (Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:28-31; Colossians 1:9).

Because our purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him, the greatest thing you can do for your marriage is to encourage each other to pursue God and spend time with Him. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.”

Over the next year of your married life, look for ways to point each other to God and His Word. Remember that those who delight in God’s Word are “like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither” (Psalm 1:3). Don’t you want those words to describe you—and your spouse?

Also, spend time praying together. Dennis Rainey, president of FamilyLife, says that praying together daily with his wife “has helped resolve conflicts, kept communication flowing, and, most importantly, acknowledged our utter dependence upon Jesus Christ as the Lord and Builder of our family.”

The closer you grow to God, the closer you will grow to each other.

Discuss:

Read Psalm 1:1-3 together. How have you seen your life prosper as you know and apply God’s Word in your life? How could you encourage each other to grow closer to God?

More:

Read the following article at FamilyLife.com:

Building a Spiritual Foundation for Your Marriage by Dennis Rainey