In Matthew 6, Jesus is teaching His disciples that when you allow God to reign over your life and pursue righteous living, you can trust Him to meet your needs. As married couples, we don’t always give God the priority He deserves. We rely on instincts and past experiences to govern our choices. But Jesus challenges us to seek God first and watch Him meet our every need.
Let’s look at Ruth and Boaz’s relationship, a sweet and powerful love story.
Before you continue, pause, and click on the Bible and read Ruth 2–4 together.
Ruth, a widow, was known as a woman of “noble character” who cared for her mother-in-law, Naomi, also a widow. Boaz, a distant relative of Naomi’s, was a “family redeemer” who was responsible for acting on behalf of a relative in need. Boaz rescued and married Ruth, saving the lineage of Naomi’s family. Unlike the old law, we don’t need a person or designated family member to save us because Jesus does it for us. He saves and redeems us and points us to God to meet our every need.
Ruth and Naomi needed to be protected, and Boaz fulfilled that need. God aligned these two people to meet despite the tragedies and obstacles it took to get them there. Their commitment to doing the Lord’s will set off a series of events that influenced the lineage of Jesus. The greater priority you place on growing your faith, the greater potential it has to grow your marriage. When you put Jesus first, you give your marriage the foundation to make it through life’s ups and downs. It’s easy to make the mistake of putting our spouse before God, but then we wonder why there is a struggle in the relationship. Give God your time, talents and treasure, and He will give you the love and perspective you need to deepen and strengthen your marriage.
If you lose sight of God’s Kingdom, your perspective of marriage can get lost, and you may start focusing on things that weaken your faith. You have to make the pursuit of God a daily priority. A great coach puts together a strategic game plan to win, but that plan must be executed to get the desired results. In the same way, to grow your faith, you need a game plan to include God in your busy schedule. The best way to do that is to start your day with Him before the daily pressures of life come pouring in.
Greater faith offers another perspective on marriage. Marriage is an opportunity, a billboard if you will, to reflect Christ to those around us, allowing us to glorify Him while growing His Kingdom.
What are some key takeaways you gathered from Ruth and Boaz’s during your reading?
What are some tangible ways you can help your spouse see the Greater Potential God has for his or her life?