Oh, blessed home, where man and wife
Together lead a godly life,
By love their faith confessing!
There many a happy day is spent;
There Jesus gladly will consent
To tarry with his blessing.
(from ”Oh, Blessed Home, Where Man and Wife” by Landstad)
This wonderful hymn was written during the Civil War, but its truths are still relevant today. One word in particular stands out in line two: together. Togetherness is what makes a marriage special. It shows a certain bonding that is necessary to turn a simple friendship into a living relationship. Two people cannot live as one flesh unless they are together in body, spirit, and faith.
Many scoff at the Leave It to Beaver days because they seem so silly today. But some still remember a time when Ward Cleaver was true only to his wife June, and she was respected as the hardworking and loving matriarch of the family. Of course Beaver and Wally had enough problems to fill a half hour each week, but there was an innocent togetherness that one could sense within that house, and it all stemmed from the relationship of Mom and Dad. Compare that with today’s sitcoms of divorced couples, absent or gay parents, clueless fathers, and uncaring mothers.
Who will our children model their lives after? Do many of them even have a concept of what it means to be a biblical husband and wife and to share lives together so much that they become one? All around us we see homes inhabited by unmarried couples who want to “play” marriage, or husbands and wives who sign prenuptial agreements and are completely independent of one another in their daily schedules, friendships, religion, finances, and plans.
There is one couple in the Bible that stands as an example of a true married husband and wife as God intended. They are Aquila and Priscilla. This couple shared a common occupation of tent making. Perhaps that’s why Paul, himself a tent maker, enjoyed their company. Their oneness was evident in the hospitality they showed to Paul and the other Christians in their fellowship. When they met Apollos, “they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God” (18:26). We find further mention of them in Romans 16:3, where Paul writes that these two “risked their lives for me.” As one flesh they worked together, moved about together, shared the gospel message together, and risked their lives together.
It is interesting that the names Aquila and Priscilla both appear seven times in Scripture. That was no coincidence for each time one is mentioned, so is the other. They were a team, a pair, a twosome, a couple. Where one would find Aquila, there would be Priscilla. They truly understood what the Lord meant when he said the two shall become one flesh. What a perfect example for today’s Christian husbands and wives.
The godly marriage of Aquila and Priscilla can serve as a wonderful illustration of an even greater marriage. That harmonious relationship is portrayed in Scripture where God’s church is the bride and Christ is the groom. That union between God’s people and the Lamb is far more complete than the marriage of Aquila and Priscilla. And finally in heaven, we will sit down at the great marriage feast and enjoy a harmony with Christ like we have never known. What a marriage that will be!
Prayer thought: Pray that our country would continue to respect God’s plan of marriage.
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