Marriage is honorable unto the Lord. The marriage that God has blessed you with is your ministry. To be effective in a ministry, you need the strength and power of the Holy Spirit. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing” – John 15: 5. Do you know that your marriage is God’s Kingdom on earth made manifest through you and your spouse that will eventually be passed down to your children’s children? It’s our obligation as believers to extend God’s Kingdom on earth. We will only accomplish this mission by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit—guiding and teaching us how to love our spouse genuinely (unconditionally) and extending grace to our spouse when they fail. According to the scriptures, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” – Proverbs 24:16. We know that “7” is the number of Completion and “8” is the New Beginning.
We need to know that God’s mercies are new every day, so we should extend the same level of Mercy and Grace to our spouses—the same way we expect God to forgive us of our sins and failures. We know that God’s Grace and mercy are sufficient and it covers a multitude of sin. His love for us builds us up in his likeness and image; we can rest assured that it will do the same for our marriage. I recall an instance when I was home thinking that it’s been a little while since I unexpectedly received some flowers from my spouse. Without hesitation that same evening, my husband came home with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers. It’s as if someone had told him what I was thinking. When I asked what the occasion was, his response was, “I have been meaning to get you flowers, but when I come out of work, the flower shop is closed. Today, I decided to leave work early, just to get you your favorite flowers.” This I know was the Holy Spirit teaching my spouse to exceed my expectations and desires.
The Holy Spirit gives us gifts for the purpose of building up others, starting with our spouse. He wants us to have a spiritually enriched life full of joy and pleasures. “In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” – Psalm 16:11. This is the epitome of what our marriage should look and feel like; this way, we are truly glorifying God in our marriage. We must be obedient, receptive, growing, equipping and using the Holy Spirit to build up and bless our spouse daily under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Share your thoughts:
- How are you allowing the Holy Spirit to use you as a vessel of honor to minister love and Grace to your spouse?
- The Holy Spirit testifies to the relationship with the Father and the Son. What will he testify about your marriage and your relationship with your spouse?
Reading recommendation:
- Love is the greatest gift: “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned but do not have love, it profits me nothing…” ~1 Corinthians 13~
- The most valuable person on earth: “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” ~John 14:26~
- A disciple of the Master Love: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” ~ John 13:33-34~
