Marriage and Family: Powered by the Spirit

I was watching a television interview a while back, and the interviewer asked a pastor, "Don’t you think it is time to bring the Bible kicking and screaming into the 21st century?" I wanted to jump through the television screen! I wanted to say, "No sir, it is time to bring culture kicking and screaming back to what the Bible teaches, because that is where the problems are coming from." Either we’re going to accept that the Bible is the source of truth on marriage, family, and every other topic, or we’re not.

You can’t pick and choose what parts of the Bible you agree with, or what fits with current culture. If you follow cultural clues, your marriage may be doomed. Instead, you have to come back to the Word of God, and develop a biblical worldview—see things through a scriptural lens.

And to have a successful marriage, you must also be filled with the Holy Spirit. You see, we have the power given to us from God to do what He has called us to do. Ephesians 5:18-19 says, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves." In the Greek, it is implied that it’s done over and over again. In other words, be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit—again and again. When you get up every morning you might just say, "Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. Help me to be the husband, the wife, the parent you have called me to be."

I will be honest with you. There is no way that I can do what the Bible tells me to do without the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no way a husband can love his wife as Christ loves the church without the power of the Spirit. And there is no way a wife can submit to the leadership of her husband without the power of the Spirit. We need this power. Keep asking for this power. And remember, the only authoritative source on any topic is the Word of God.