My wife and I just returned from our annual couples’ retreat. We had the joy of spending some extra time with my favorite couple: my dad and mom. Their example has been wonderful instruction.

One of the great joys of my life has been to see my father and mother serve the Lord together. There are few gifts parents can give their children that are as great in value as the example of joyfully serving Christ as a couple. My pastor and his wife recently celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary. Their marriage testifies to the power of following the biblical pattern for a husband and wife – giving ourselves first to God and then to one another. In relation to our own homes, we would do well to heed the instruction and example of older men and women (Titus 2).

I have enjoyed studying the married couples of the Bible. One of the great couples God references for us is Aquila and Priscilla. They were not famous but they were faithful.

In following Aquila and Priscilla through the New Testament you will soon notice that they are always mentioned together. We first meet them in Acts 18:2 where we read: “…a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla…” Every other time they were spoken of in Scripture they were together (Acts 18:3, 18, 26; Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19). We think of them not as two, but as one. Surely this was God’s intention in Genesis 2:24 when He said, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

The Lord Jesus confirmed this command in Matthew 19:5 and Mark 10:8, and added the warning: “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” When Paul wrote the Ephesian believers, he repeated this truth in the context of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:31). However, the greatest example is our Lord’s own covenant with His people: “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). Aquila and Priscilla are displaying to us what has been designed by God.

We understand it is the perfect will of God that couples stay together. Many years pass from Acts 18 until we last hear of them in 2 Timothy 4:19; yet Aquila and Priscilla are still together. At a time when more than half of all marriages end in divorce, this is a reminder all God’s people need.

But it is not enough to simply stay married; it is also the will of God that Christian couples serve the Lord together. Husbands and wives are to work together to bring glory to Christ through their home. Married couples ought to pray together, read the Word of God together, attend the church services together, and labor together to bring the lost to Christ. Nothing brings unity like a common purpose. The desire of every believing husband and wife ought to be to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ together.

How beautiful it is to see families joyfully serving the Lord! Will you determine to make your home a place where everyone is involved in the work of Christ? May God give us all the grace to “finish our course with joy”– serving God together.

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3)

Do you ever talk with your mate about spiritual matters? It is amazing that we talk to one another about plans, finances, children, and problems but never talk about Christ and the place He ought to occupy in our lives. Here are a few helpful ways to set in motion a conversation about the Lord in your home:

• Tell your spouse exactly how you came to know Christ as your Savior.  “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so…” Psalm 107:2
• Express to your mate how grateful to God you are for them and how much you love them.  “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” Phil. 1:3
• Share with your spouse a matter you are specifically praying about at this time.  “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
• Talk with your spouse about how God has answered prayer and give Him the glory.  “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 34:3
• Show your mate a truth God has recently taught you from His Word.  “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20
• Explain to your spouse the spiritual goals you have for your own life.  “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12
• Discuss with your mate specific opportunities your family has to minister to others.  “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Philippians 2:4