There is a place for a radical expression of love that just doesn’t make sense to anyone else. In marriage, we often don’t go the extra mile to show how special our husband or wife is to us.
Marriage can become a humdrum relationship with an occasional dinner and movie out. It is time we inject life and spice into our marriages and show our spouse how much he/she means to us.
Every now and then, just surprise your spouse with something big. It could be splurging at a nice restaurant, buying your spouse a nice outfit, or taking your spouse on a cool out-of-town trip. You can also be radical at no financial cost. Deep clean your house or garage, detail your spouse’s car, find a really cool place to hike, or build a big bonfire and have some s’mores.
Create fun, recurring things you do as a couple. I talked to a husband today who makes homemade pizzas with his wife each year on a particular holiday. Just keep something on your calendar so you and your spouse always have something to look forward to together.
Things of great value deserve great investment. Your marriage is of great value. Invest in it. People are drawn to things that are creative, fun, and interesting. May people be drawn to the Gospel by watching you be married.
It is so easy to let life and marriage settle into a predictable norm. Take a different approach and keep your spouse on their toes. Make it incredibly obvious how much you love them by how much time, energy, and money you pour into them.
Every spouse is different. As Gary Chapman points out, different spouses have different love languages. Some like to be served, while others like gifts or to be touched. I recommend reading the book, The Five Love Languages, and/or taking the free online “Love Languages” quiz. Figure out each other’s love language, and purpose yourself to radically love your spouse using their preferred language.
Scripture tells us, “Let marriage be held in honor among all” (Hebrews 13:4). Presently, it is ignored by some, ridiculed by others, and attacked by many. I long for a movement in which lovers of God’s Truth spend more energy and resources on marriage than evil forces spend trying to destroy it.
Be married in a manner that brings honor to marriage. Have a ministry in your church that demonstrates to the world that marriage is important. As a board member of mine once said, “Couples will not be more intentional with their marriages than churches are with their marriage ministries.” Can you imagine what would happen if we put the same effort into marriage ministry that we do into Vacation Bible School?
The vision of Grace Marriage is to completely change how people do marriage and to foster an ongoing and effective marriage ministry in every single Bible-believing church. If you’d like to join us in moving toward this goal, visit us at gracemarriage.com.
Marilyn Rhoads is co-founder of Grace Marriage.