Welcome! I’m glad you’ve joined me for day 8 of this 10-day series, “How to Be the Wife He Really Wants.”
Do you know your marriage will look different in eternity?
Your Marriage In Eternity
Your marriage is a covenant here on earth, but in heaven, it will look quite different. You and your husband are linked together in the flesh now, but in heaven you will be linked together in a new way.
In the book You and Me Forever by Francis & Lisa Chan, they explain this mystery:
This may come as a shock, but Jesus taught that marriages on earth don’t carry over into heaven.
Then he quotes Matthew 22, when Jesus said, “…in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” (Matthew 22:30)
Francis Chan goes on:
Maybe Jesus’ statement is hard for you to accept…For me, it’s hard to imagine the day when Lisa and I will no longer be married, but two thoughts bring me comfort. First, this doesn’t mean that Lisa and I won’t be deeply in love with each other in heaven. My guess is that I will be even closer to Lisa when we exist in glorified bodies absent of sin. Second, I will have a union with God which is guaranteed to be better than any earthly closeness I might be experiencing now. I trust the God who created marriage when He promises a better future.
How does this truth resonate with you? For me, Jesus’ teaching grants great hope. Hope that all our misunderstandings, mistakes, and hurts will be forever cast aside. Hope that we will know each other the way Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden, before sin entered the world. We will truly then be wholly uncovered before one another, without any shame.
If I look at my marriage with an eternal perspective, I have greater peace and hope. #marriage #hope #eternity Click To Tweet
You Are His Sister In Christ
If I see myself as a sister in Christ to my husband, I take notice how my thoughts, words, and actions either build him up or tear him down, both now and in the future. The petty issues I used to fret over don’t matter as much when I take a wider view. Basically, I don’t bring up issues anymore unless the confrontation will lead us both closer to Christ.
I want to serve my husband well so his faith is nurtured and strengthened. When his faith grows, everyone in the family benefits. That’s why my role as his sister in Christ is so important.
How can we as wives strengthen our husbands as our brothers in Christ? Here are three ways I’m serving my husband as a sister in Christ:
- Having a gentle, quiet spirit. I used to pepper him with questions about his faith. Now I leave that between him and God. If faith naturally comes up in our discussions, that’s fine, but I no longer force it.
- Tell him how much I appreciate him. Church is not his “thing” like it is mine. But he faithfully attends with us every week. Every so often, I tell him how much it means to me that he attends church with us as a family. I tell him it’s such an important example for our kids, and he needs to know how much it matters to me.
- Encouraging him. Whenever he shares a struggle, I limit myself to one or two sentences of encouragement about faith. He doesn’t like it when I sound “preachy,” but I know not many other people in his life verbally encourage him to have faith. This is my role, and I try hard not to overdo it anymore.
What practical step can you take today to serve YOUR husband as a sister in Christ? I would love to hear your suggestions in the comments below!
Join me tomorrow for Day 9, “Be His Prayer Warrior.” And catch up on last week’s posts and Day 6 here!
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