Being a disciplemaking friend to your spouse
- Bill Allison
- Oct 13, 2016
- 2 min read
Men and women are wired to influence each other. Sometimes we impact our spouses for the better…and other times, for worse.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”
12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” —Genesis 3:8-13
Being a friend to your spouse
Thankfully, God gives us a much better picture of how we can influence one another for better:
1“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, 2and you and your children and grandchildren must fear thelord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. 3Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4“Listen, O Israel! The lord is our God, the lord alone. 5And you must love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. —Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Which kind of spouse are you? Do you drag your partner down with you into bad choices, or are you a wholehearted, disciplemaking friend?
If you have a spouse, study & share Deuteronomy 6:1-9 together and ask: What does this passage show us about God’s design for disciplemaking? What does it look like for our family to make disciples together?
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