Marital bliss is all about love, intimacy, sacrifice and commitment
Thriving couples place their spiritual commitments at the very centre of their marriage. They have a deep, shared faith, and this common spiritual commitment is a second predictor of marital success and longevity. It’s important to be crystal clear about what we’re saying here. We understand that there are many “spiritually mixed” marriages in contemporary society, and we don’t mean to imply that these marriages are “second-rate” in any way. We would suggest that in a purely practical sense, marriages lacking this shared spiritual foundation are at a serious disadvantage. The absence of a common faith represents a gap in any couple’s relationship.
Spiritual intimacy is often overlooked in the quest for a thriving and sustainable marriage
Why do we say this? Because marriage is about something more than two people living and getting along together under the same roof. Marriage is a matter of intentionally and pro-actively cultivating intimacy and interpersonal communication at every level. Marriage is a total partnership—a one-flesh union within which spouses have to learn how to cooperate, work together, and hammer out mutually satisfactory compromises, sometimes on a daily basis, in response to a wide variety of practical problems. When two people are operating on the basis of two different worldviews, they can’t help but approach those problems and decisions from two vastly different angles. This doesn’t mean, of course, that your spiritual journey has to be exactly the same as your spouse’s. Nor does it imply that the two of you will always prefer the same styles of worship or derive the same degree of benefit from different types of study or different forms of prayer.
God has given to each individual a unique spiritual temperament, and we can’t hope to grow with integrity if we don’t remain true to ourselves. A healthy marriage is one in which spouses are free to affirm these differences and to learn from one another as they grow together towards the common goal of becoming better individuals.
Try This! Take time to pray together or engage in meaningful reflection with one another. A shared spiritual belief can truly bring a couple closer together as they look at things on a larger and deeper scale, caring about things other than themselves. If you liked this article and would like to go deeper, we have some helpful resources at: www.family.org.my.
