The Blessing of my Christian Wife.

wedding115Many years ago when my wife and I started dating I was excited to learn she was Lutheran. Looking back at that time it is interesting to note that I had no idea what being Lutheran really meant. I grew up in the ELCA and she grew up in the CLC. These church bodies are on the opposite ends of the spectrum within American Lutheranism. I remember thinking her parents would probably be happy that I was Lutheran. I have since learned their are vast differences between all the different Lutheran church bodies in America. After many years of being members of the LCMS I am very thankful that we now have a common confession of faith and are able to have honest conversations about our faith and church life. Wives are truly a gift of God and Christian wife is a blessing I thank God for everyday. I can’t imagine my life without my wife.

Church Life
The blessing of my wife has had a great impact on my church life. Our weekly church attendance is filled with moments to confess the faith together. We have opportunities to sing hymns of praise to God for His many blessings to us and our marriage. Every week I am blessed to stand next to my wife as we confess our sins (including the many sins we commit against each other) and receive absolution. As I sit next to my wife, hand in hand we listen as our pastor preaches the Law of God which exposes the many sins in our lives. We are then consoled with the promises of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We kneel together at the communion rail to receive the true body and blood of Jesus Christ. My wife has also had a great impact on motivating me to serve my neighbor in the church. Husbands can be quite lazy from time to time and my wife doesn’t let me get away with my never ending battle against laziness. My wife has also had great patience as she supports me in my duty of teaching our children the faith.

Home Life
The blessing of my Christian wife is very important in our home life. In service to one another and our children we deal  with the problems and challenges of our everyday lives in this sinful and fallen world. We are supported by our confession of faith and a worldview which we will use in bringing up our children in that faith and also in general parenting. Our church life and faith extends into our home life when teaching our children about right and wrong. The Law of God guides our parenting against our children’s sinfulness and the Gospel of Jesus Christ guides our forgiveness of their sin. The Word of God always guides, shapes and maintains, our faithful marriage. Our home life while full of sin is also full of the forgiveness won for us by the cross of Jesus Christ. Marriage and parenting are very difficult things but when grounded in the scriptures and faith in Jesus they are managed gracefully even within our sinful lives together as husband and wife.

The Life Everlasting
The greatest blessing I have in my Christian wife is knowing we are truly united here and now and in a different way forever. God has bound us in our marriage for this life and in our baptisms for this life and the life to come. Through our baptisms God has chosen us to be children of God.  Through faith in Jesus Christ and not in each other we shall see the resurrection and the life everlasting. One of the most inspiring things I see week in and week out at our local church is older husbands and wives.  Many of these husbands and wives have been married longer then I have been alive. They walk hand and hand into the Lord’s house together to receive the many blessings of God. I pray to my wife and I will be able to grow old together and continue to receive the many gifts of God. My hope and prayer for my wife and I is that we will always keep Christ at the center of our marriage. That is my prayer for all marriages. That His church will keep all husbands and wives grounded in the truths of His life, death and resurrection. By the preaching of His Word and receiving the Sacraments, God will keep us steadfast in the true faith until He calls us to our true home with Him. So give thanks to God for your Christian wife for she is a blessing without measure.

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