Renew your Marriage Daily in Christ
We are being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16
Be made new in the attitude of your minds. - Ephesians 4:23
Renewal is a part of our lives. Whether we realize it or not, we are constantly in the process of renewing some element of our lives.
Do you know what renewal means?
The dictionary says to renew is to make something like new, to give it new vigor or to make it fresh. Something comes alive during renewal. Renewal signifies growth. The opposite is stagnation and decay.
Houses in a state of decay come alive through the process of renewal; so do businesses and ministries. Renewal, though, sparks greater excitement in two other areas: our individual lives and our marriages.
Individual lives in a state of stagnation and decay come alive when we confront Jesus Christ.
His presence produces renewal and makes our lives fresh. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul states that we are able to put aside the old way of life and put on the new way of life (4:22-24):
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
This process creates a renewal of our minds.
Each year you receive renewal notices from magazines, newspapers, organizations and the list goes on.
Marriages, too, can come alive. I have seen stagnating, decaying marriages begin to blossom and come alive as they were renewed in Christ.
They became fresh and alive. A new sense of love, romance, intimacy, commitment, trust and hope appears.
What about your marriage? Will renewal occur? Where will you need it to occur? How will your partner like your marriage to be renewed? Hard questions? Perhaps.
Premarital questions? No. They are necessary questions. Begin by asking God for guidance, and then talk about these hard questions as a couple.
Romans 12:2 states:
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
At times in your married years you will need renewal. Do not let problems and issues build up until you need massive reconstruction. Be involved in a process of renewal.
Remember—marriage needs acts of daily creation. Make your marriage come alive, not yearly, not monthly, not weekly, but daily.
H. Norman Wright
H. Norman Wright is a licensed Family Counselor and child therapist and has taught in the Grad. Department of Biola University. He is the author of more than seventy books
