Marriage

By Bryan Craig 

Scripture:  “The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”  
1 Corinthians 7:3-5

Thought:  One of the pleasures and duties of married life is sexual intimacy. Paul challenges married couples to give themselves to each other and not to deprive each other, except for times of prayer. Many of you are probably surprised to see the Bible talking about sex like this.

If God said we are to become one flesh, this had to be for more than just having babies. We are sharing our bodies with each other, being integrally connected, which reflects the spiritual connection we also share. Paul is also saying that if we are not experiencing sexual intimacy in our marriage, where it is supposed to happen, we could be tempted to look outside our marriage. Perhaps this is why pornography is so popular and so many affairs occur.

Application:  How is our sex life with our spouse? Has something gotten in the way of this key aspect of a marriage? I’ve heard marriage counselors say that 90 percent of the problems they see in marriages could be solved if the couples resolved to have more sex. This is what Paul is saying.

Let’s write in our journals and honestly explore how we are doing in this area. We may think it’s our fault or our spouse’s, but it is never one person’s fault. We also have an enemy who hates marriage and wants to destroy it, and he may be dividing us.

Response:  If this area is lacking in our marriage, perhaps we need to have a gentle, heart-to-heart talk with our spouse. Let’s pray with our spouses and ask God to restore intimacy into our marriage. Let’s seek counseling if necessary, but let’s not just act like it has to be this way.

Write a prayer in your journal, asking God to guide you to understand if you have sexual issues that need to be addressed. If you have a healthy sex life in your marriage, write a prayer of thanksgiving for your spouse and the gift of this connection.