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AQUILA AND PRISCILLA: THE ROLES WE PLAY

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After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

-Acts 18:1-3

Reflect

We come into marriage with certain ideas of what a wife does in a marriage and what a husband does. What models of marriage have you observed? A traditional model has the wife taking care of the home and the husband taking care of financial support. A common model in the military is the dual-military couple where both husband and wife have an equal level of responsibility at work and share responsibilities at home. We can think of a variety of other models.

The New Testament introduces us to a couple who modeled marriage differently from the culture around them. Aquila and Priscilla were a married couple who owned and operated a tentmaking business. The apostle Paul met them on a ministry journey to Corinth. He was also a tentmaker, and this couple became significant to him and to the early church. All six New Testament references to Aquila and Priscilla mention them together. They model marriage partnership at its best.

There is no perfect marriage model. No matter which you follow, you and your husband need to agree on the direction for your marriage. Every marriage requires you both to work together to bring your unique gifts, talents, abilities, and strengths into the union. Operating in your respective strengths will enhance your life as a couple.

The challenge for the military marriage is maintaining flexibility regarding roles. During times of deployment and extended duty, more responsibility falls on the spouse who remains home. But this challenge can serve to further strengthen a couple as they work together to remain close and keep their partnership active.

Respond

You do not have to work side by side with your spouse like Aquila and Priscilla to have a good marriage. In what ways do you and your spouse demonstrate partnership and teamwork? What is one thing you can do to improve your partnership and teamwork?

Prayer

Lord, help my husband and me to function as a team. Show us how to serve one another and teach us how to operate in our respective strengths. Help us work together to strengthen our marriage. Amen.