"How can two walk together unless they be agreed" - Amos 3:3
I am going to write about this on two levels - today - Husband and Wife. Tomorrow - Christian to Christian.
During our 50 years of marriage we have been faced with many challenges - just like every other husband and wife that ever lived. Together! If you and your spouse are both Christians you should understand what it means to be one from God's perspective.
"But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh." - Mark 10:6-8
There is not just a physical reality to this - but a spiritual one as well. When a husband and wife are unevenly yoked - one is a Christian and one is not - it is impossible to become one as God intended. So to my point. As Christians we have the same Spirit in us which unites us spiritually.
Martie and I use Amos 3:3 as a guide to decision making, especially when it has to do with responding to God's call. It is important that she and I be in agreement, even if it means that agreement requires we must sacrifice by being apart. We agree that the decisions we must make has to do with God's calling. We agree that we must obey. We also understand that saying "yes" to God's call may be difficult to live out.
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” – Luke 1:26-27
That is not "hate" as we think of it today, but rather it is comparative. It means we are to love God first and others second, including our family. (Matt 22:37-39) So our love for family may look like hate when compared to our love for God. Being in agreement with your spouse is critical. The Spirit brings unity. If there is no agreement, then you don't do it - no matter how much one of you wants to. You wait. Don't think to highly of yourself and imagine that you are limiting God by waiting. Sorting out what is faith and what is feelings can be a challenge. It requires prayer and conversation with each other, listening for God to speak, and then spiritual obedience. I have said many times about childish obedience the attitude is often, "you can make me do it but you can't make me like it" That is how we can respond to God. God looks at the heart so we deceive no one. Then we are like the second son that Jesus talked about.
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to Him, 'The first.'” - Matthew 21:28-31
Think about this. If the husband and wife are one, then certainly the Spirit would not just speak to one half and not the other? Following God will always require sacrifice in the natural sense. Our mission and ministry have most certainly required sacrifice - being apart from our family for a season. Some people have marveled at our willingness to serve. Some have told us that it is too much and even suggesting that we are being irresponsible. But in our view, if God has called us to leave and serve – then we are fulfilling our greatest responsibility. This is a truth that we have learned over the years. It should be a practice of every Christian marriage. God does not ask us to do the same things, but He does ask us to do those things in the same way, with the same heart. Your married life is a testimony to this and future generations.
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