Speaker 1: 0:07

Welcome to Made for Good, the podcast where we explore how to live out our purpose through good works. Guide about biblical truth.

Speaker 2: 0:14

Hey, I'm Josh and I'm Mark. Today we're talking about marriage and service, really how husbands and wives can work together in service to glorify God. Josh, marriage is more than just a relationship. It's really a partnership in life and in faith. So when married couples serve together, they not only can strengthen their relationship, but they can kind of double their impact on or in God's kingdom.

Speaker 1: 0:43

Yeah, very true. You know, I did say a couple episodes ago that this was one of the more challenging episodes that we discussed. I will say about this one specifically within marriage. You've been married for a long time. Right, how many years? Over 30 years, 30 years, that's a long time. I've been married for 13 years. I've been married most of your life. You have. I didn't say that you did. I've been married for 13 years as of this coming March, and he'll be happy that I remembered that. What I was going to just say, though, is that it's much easier to talk about marriage when it's just me and you in the room.

Speaker 2: 1:16

But you know what? I have some information to share with you. I know for a fact that our wives have subscribed, as we've asked everybody else to. Our wives have subscribed and they will probably hear this. So I'm just saying be careful, good advice, okay. So hey, let me ask you what do you think makes serving together really such a powerful experience for Christian couples?

Speaker 1: 1:43

It just flat out. It creates unity, it builds a sense of purpose, it strengthens our bonds as husbands and wives and, instead of this trap of just growing side by side, we, as husbands and wives, grow in the same direction which is pretty cool towards Christ.

Speaker 2: 1:59

We go back to our foundational verse that we've used in almost every episode Ephesians 2.10. You know it says for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. But we haven't really focused on the latter half of that verse very much so far, and I want to focus in on these words, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Josh, who designed marriage? Go ahead. Do you think that that is one of the things that God prepared beforehand this idea of marriage and serving together in marriage? Yeah, absolutely. Well, I believe that too, and I believe that he designed it originally as a partnership. Who were supposed to take care of the Garden of Eden? It was Adam and Eve. I think that there was a partnership in their work, their service there in the Garden of Eden, and they were walking in the good work that God prepared for them to do. Now they messed that up, as we do in our own lives, but God prepared the concept of marriage as a part of His workmanship and he prepared good works that we should walk in them.

Speaker 1: 3:18

Absolutely. The Bible, which I love, gives some incredible examples of couples serving together, and one of the best examples that we we love to talk about is Aquila and Priscilla, and Paul wrote about them in Romans 16. If you want to read along with us, we'll be in verse three and four of chapter 16. And the Bible says this greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.

Speaker 2: 3:48

You know, their story is really amazing. It's one of my favorite ones and I think that it is interesting that in some references to Aquila and Priscilla, priscilla is mentioned first. I get the idea that she was a powerhouse and a pillar of faith and such a strong person for Aquila to have as a partnership in service. We're going to look at a few things that kind of describe their life as we have it recorded. So let's first we look at the fact that they were Jews that lived in Rome but they were forced to leave Rome. That was due to the government persecution there, but they continued to serve. When Paul met them in Corinth they understood hey, he's a tent maker, we're a tent maker, let's bring him into our business, tent maker, let's bring him into our business. And we were told that in Acts 18, verse 2 and 3, that they were welcomed really into the tent making trade with them. And then they left, as you know, they left Corinth with Paul when he went to Ephesus and they wound up. We read later in 1 Corinthians 16, 19, that they hosted a church in their home.

Speaker 2: 5:06

Lots of people today have been able to do that in kind of remote areas where there's not a church building for them to meet in, and this verse that you just read says that they risked their lives for Paul's mission. We're told later, in Acts 18, verse 24 through 26, the story of them, both of them bringing Apollos aside and teaching him more accurately about the gospel. So you've got these, this Jewish couple that live in Rome. They probably thought we're going to live in Rome. Rome's our home. We're going to be here, we're going to live and we're going to make our, make our, run our business. And then the government starts to persecute them and they have to up and leave. I mean, who knows, they might have left everything behind.

Speaker 1: 5:50

Yeah, there's so much that we can learn as married couples from Aquila and Priscilla One of the things that we see just based off the things you talked about. They weren't just partners in marriage, they were partners in ministry. Their story shows us how a strong marriage can become a powerful tool for God's work.

Speaker 2: 6:08

Yeah, I see them as being. They were persistent in their faith and their dedication. They were adaptable, flexible. I read them as being positive people, active people, proactive people. I mean Apollos was the preacher, so they brought him aside and said, hey, you don't have it exactly right, so let's talk to you about that's showing love and compassion. I'm sure that was done in a respectful way and Apollos benefited from it. What an example for married people to follow today, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 6:47

Let's take a look at a verse that we've already looked at before in Ecclesiastes, in chapter 4, verses 9 and 10. This is one that's familiar to us. Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil, for if they fall, one will lift up his fellow and you could say, maybe his fellow spouse. So two are better than one. You mentioned before in the previous episode that Jesus sent them out two by two In marriage. You've got two and they are better than one. They can bring complimentary strengths know, complimentary strengths and encouragement and joy into the service. In fact, let's look at some of those, some of the benefits of serving together. I would say that if you're serving together, it really it strengthens your faith. Couples growing spiritually when they work toward a common goal. I think is part of God's design for marriage. For them to be in sync spiritually is a great benefit, and one can strengthen the other. One is down, One is having a challenge, the other can help, because all the verses that we read about in the Bible about how we should help our fellow Christian If your spouse is a Christian, guess what they qualify for that help as well, and it can happen in your own home. I think it also deepens an emotional connection. We've talked about iron, sharpening iron and those sorts of things. Serving together with our buddies, with our friends. I think that in serving together as a married couple, those experiences can build trust, they can build intimacy, they can build confidence that your spouse is seeing the world like you see them, that they're seeing the world like you see it, and that they care about the same things that you care about and that they love the Lord the way you love the Lord.

Speaker 2: 8:40

These last two I want to talk about, I think, are very powerful as well. It uses complementary strengths. So I don't know about you, but my wife's got skills that I don't have. Yeah, and she does. Thank you for that affirmation. He's trying to be an encourager at the moment, but what we see spouses bringing their unique gifts to the service. Maybe your spouse is more aware of something, but you have the ability to actually plan to meet that need. So they see the need and you know how to meet the need and you put those two together and it's super powerful and so using each other's complementary strengths.

Speaker 2: 9:26

I think is is again part of God's plan for married couples to to serve together and one of the things that is sometimes unavoidable but but it's something that serving together and one of the things that is sometimes unavoidable, but it's something that serving together could prevent a separation.

Speaker 2: 9:45

If it's my goal to be a missionary in the most remote parts of the world, okay, that's great, that's a good word.

Speaker 2: 9:54

If it's taking me away from my spouse that I am, potentially, if I don't keep that balanced, I'm neglecting my responsibilities as a husband, and so if you can find ways to serve together and stay connected, not only in your faith but in your purpose and in your service, then it really prevents that separation that you can have. Now. I know that there are preachers who do travel to remote parts of the world to preach. I know some who do take their wives, and I think that that's a wonderful example. It's very powerful because now, as we mentioned, they have that shared experience and then they come back home and they're closer. They've endured maybe some hardship together and even while they were there they were relying on each other for strength and for support. If you ask a preacher who may have traveled to another part of the world if they would prefer to take their spouse or not, then I would say most likely most of them would. If they had a good marriage, they would want their spouse there with them to help them.

Speaker 1: 11:01

You know, and when I was younger, there was a saying I'm sure it's been around forever and it was that you could be anything that you wanted to be, and really that's a lie, yeah.

Speaker 2: 11:11

I cannot be a major league pitcher.

Speaker 1: 11:14

Yeah, and I thought too I had aspirations of being a baseball player. Guess what, I retired in junior college with an arm injury, so early right. But my point was saying that but you've got all that NIL money that you got oh tons. That was a big thing back then.

Speaker 2: 11:29

Oh wait, no that's more recent right, so you didn't have it.

Speaker 1: 11:32

But my point is saying this is and spiritually speaking, you can be whoever you want to be and you can grow into that, especially in a marriage. If you look around your home congregation, you can see a couple that you respect, love and you want to be like. Well, guess what? You could take stuff from their marriage and make it your own. There's so many ways that you can serve as a married couple and some of the things that you do see around you. So take the time to look at the strengths of couples that have been married for a long time. One of the things that you can do is just being hospitable, Hosting a Bible study. Think about you mentioned this earlier inviting people into your homes is a powerful way to serve together.

Speaker 1: 12:13

Another way that you can serve and this does take time you have to be mature in your marriage.

Speaker 1: 12:17

You have to have went through some stuff together. Years have to pass by, but you can mentor relationships with some younger couples or individuals by teaching them the gospel or just how to have a healthy marriage in general. And then I love that we've talked about this before but just volunteering with your spouse, that helps a community and that keeps you so encouraged as a couple and motivated to continue to do good, not just inside of the church building but outside of the walls as well. And then we have to have supporting missions in order to really thrive as a married couple, and one of the ways this can happen is if you just partner in your evangelism efforts. That can be a really helpful thing to work through this together. And then the most obvious thing to do as a way to serve together in a marriage is just raising a Christ-centered family. That takes a husband and a wife in order for that to happen. But you got to serve together right and parenting and faith.

Speaker 2: 13:21

Josh, that's a great list, Something that really we can look back to Aquila and Priscilla and look at them as the power couple example. They did those things, they were hospitable and that they hosted the church in their home. They showed skills in mentorship and teaching, particularly with Apollos. You know that they were hosting the church in their home. They probably volunteered to host that church in their home, so volunteering to serve their church family in that community there in Ephesus. You talked about supporting different missions. Well, they obviously supported Paul's mission and, although we don't know about whether they had children or not, you got to think that their family was focused on Christ and them serving together as a pillar of faith in their church family as well as in their community. Absolutely, what we're learning here is that serving together not only blesses other people, the recipients, it actually strengthens the marriage and really builds up God's kingdom, as we've talked about before. This network of love, stitching together, building a body working together, together, building a body working together.

Speaker 1: 14:41

These are concepts of unity that permeate all of these different examples that we're talking about. But, mark, you know, before couples can really serve together, you have to practice serving each other. Marriage is built on selflessness.

Speaker 2: 14:50

Wait, wait, you said selfishness.

Speaker 1: 14:51

I hope my wife didn't hear that. Selflessness, selflessness.

Speaker 2: 14:54

Okay, I got it. I'm sorry.

Speaker 1: 14:56

And mutual care. And the Bible commands this in 1 John 3, 18, where it says let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

Speaker 2: 15:06

Okay, and so while that verse can be applied universally in everything that we do, as we mentioned before, it most certainly applies to marriage, and we read in Philippians 2, verse 3, it says do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. This idea of counting others more significant than yourself is true, so important inside the marriage. So really, what we're saying is that serving each other means that we're meeting each other's needs, and that's being aware of and responding to physical needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs. It means expressing love through actions. We've talked about some small things in a previous episode.

Speaker 2: 15:58

Small gestures, strength in a marriage. If I wash the pan that I cooked an egg in for breakfast, I'm not sure of the scoring mechanism, but I think I get bonus points if I wash it and put it back up. And so, just again, little things. Um, making the bed. Maybe your wife makes the bed most days. Uh, you jump in and you make the bed once. Little things like that show I'm aware of what you do and I'm, I'm giving you the day off. I'm going to do it for us, yeah, and it's really a partnership and it's showing that you love them. And it's through small things, small actions, also encouraging and supporting one another. I mean, this is more, maybe, verbal. It's providing this spiritual and emotional support. I know you're going through something Both times, when I lost my parents and I told my wife the very first thing that I did she just grabbed me and hugged me, and so she was there for me when, uh, when, I needed her, and so providing that support it's a small gesture, but it means so much.

Speaker 1: 17:13

You know, as men, we tend to think something but not say something. So one of the things we've talked about throughout our episodes is when you feel, do yeah and in the case of our spouses it should be magnified If you think the oh, she looks pretty, or say it, or you, or you're so thankful that she did fill in the blank, say it, yeah, it. You know, our wives are all wives, are all there for us. We need to be there for them with what we say.

Speaker 2: 17:40

Absolutely, and one of the things that putting other people's needs and, specifically in this case, putting your spouse's needs before your own that we just read in Philippians 2, verse 3, it practices humility, yeah, and serving others, counting others more significant than yourselves. Boy, that is hard. I have needs. I did this. Any conversation that starts with I is a danger for us. In this context, when we're talking about serving together in marriage, we need to be humble and we need to put our spouse's needs before our own Because, in learning it in this context of marriage, when it's just the two of you, you're exercising these actions and thoughts and compassion and love. You're exercising it in the marriage so that you both can then take it out and serve to others in the same way.

Speaker 1: 18:44

Right, and what we're saying with all of this is husbands and wives who serve each other in God's kingdom, create and have a strong foundation.

Speaker 2: 18:53

Okay, that's good Now. So we're to our mission challenge for the week. This is going to be a fun one, I think. Yeah, something that you both have complimentary or maybe the same skills, interest, and something that you both can be excited about. So choose something that aligns with your strengths and your interests and plan that out, and then the next step is to set a date. I'm trying to be in there's the word intentional we're trying to, as we've said before, make the decision to do it, and we're and also, as we said before, speak it out loud, talk about it, and then your spouse can hold you accountable and you can hold them accountable. Set a date for when you're going to do it and follow through.

Speaker 2: 19:53

Now it could be something very simple. This does not have to be a grand thing. It could be something like we're going to go volunteer at the food bank, or you could even host somebody in your home. Yeah, I mean, just host a dinner and maybe be strategic about who you invite. Invite some people that you know maybe very well, but also some people that you don't know very well or maybe that you know are alone.

Speaker 2: 20:16

So we sometimes try to mix couples and single people, because a lot of times, single people don't get invited to dinners, and it's not that you're trying to matchmake or anything, it's just like we see you. You count as well. We want to spend time with you and to encourage you and be encouraged by you, and then, of course, as always, to encourage you and be encouraged by you. And then, of course, as always, you know, pray before you serve, and what you're really asking for in this prayer is for God to use you again, as we said at the very beginning, for his glory. I think if we get into a habit of when we pray, you know, obviously we want the good work exercise that we're going to undertake to go well and to be beneficial. We also need to pray specifically that God be glorified in all that we do, and I think throwing that blanket of to God be the glory on top of what we're doing ensures that we're covered and people only see the glory of God. They're not seeing our own individual efforts.

Speaker 1: 21:22

We understand that, if you're listening to the mission challenge this week and you're not married, that it's a challenge. Matter of fact, we know that this episode has been really hyper focused on a husband and a wife, and the first thing we'd like to say is that you are needed in God's kingdom Absolutely, and so there is a challenge for you as well. What we want you to do if you're a Christian and you're single, we want you to pray, but we also want you to find a Christian couple that you love, that you respect, and we want you to offer to serve alongside them, and here's why, when you do that, you'll learn from their example, their unity in faith and service.

Speaker 2: 22:08

Yeah, that's fantastic and you know, we'd like to hear about your experiences in this. And, of course, as we mentioned before, we're on X and Instagram and Facebook. Um, you know, share your comments, share your questions. Again, this is not a place to humble brag. We're not asking for that. What we want to do is stir one or other up to love and good works. We want to glorify God, and maybe your experience can do both of those things. So that's it for today's episode. Um, can do both of those things. So that's it for today's episode. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next one, and we hope you found this helpful.

Speaker 1: 22:44

Consider sharing it with a friend. Until next time, serve together, build your faith and remember you were made for this. You.