Intimacy is a lifelong invitation to let your spouse get to know the “real you” — your hopes, dreams, fears and secrets.
Getting Started
- Read today’s marriage devotion.
- Share today’s question with your spouse.
Today’s Video
Today’s Devotion
On a scale of one to 10 — with 10 being the highest — where do you rate your marriage?
We all want a perfect 10. But can two imperfect people have a perfect 10 marriage?
During the recent Perfect 10 Marriage event, Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley — authors, counselors and Focus on the Family’s marriage experts — invited couples from around the world to share how they’re working toward a perfect 10 marriage.
The “Perfect 10” couples talked about five major challenges all marriages face … and what they’re doing to overcome those challenges.
The five challenges include:
- Communication
- Time Together
- Shared Responsibility
- Conflict
- Intimacy
To help you work through these challenges in your marriage, Focus on the Family has created a series of devotionals to address each issue and offer Bible-based tips for you and your spouse.
Today’s Topic
What do you think of when you hear someone talk about intimacy? Sex? That’s a part of intimacy, but there’s so much more. See what the Bible has to say about sex and intimacy.
Scripture Reading
- Proverbs 5:18-19 – “Rejoice in the wife of your youth … be intoxicated always in her love.”
- Song of Solomon 6:3 – “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
Meditation
The world’s shortest marriage? 180 seconds. You read that correctly. Just three short minutes from “I do” to “I don’t.” And no, it wasn’t a celebrity stunt. It was a real-life event in the tiny country of Kuwait.
According to news reports, the bride and groom had just exchanged vows in a local courthouse and were in the process of leaving the building when the bride tripped and fell on the floor. Rather than help his new bride to her feet, the groom told her she was stupid. The insult was worse than the pain the bride felt, so she walked back to the judge (who had just performed the wedding ceremony) and demanded a divorce. The divorce was granted, and the newlyweds parted ways.
Three minutes. You can learn much about a person in just a short amount of time. On the other hand, you can spend a lifetime with a spouse and never really get to know the real person. That’s why intimacy is such an important part of the marriage relationship. Intimacy is a lifelong invitation to let your spouse get to know the “real you” — your hopes, dreams, fears and secrets. It’s an act of vulnerability. Of risk. You may fear that your spouse will reject you when they see your true self. Intimacy is also an opportunity to embrace the security of knowing that your spouse sees your faults and loves you anyway. Song of Solomon 6:3 describes the security that comes with intimacy: “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
Many couples struggle with intimacy. The fear of rejection can keep couples from embracing God’s gift of intimacy. But God invites us to “be strong and courageous.” Are you willing to try?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, give us courage to open our hearts to each other and be fully known. Amen.
Today’s Question
How can you earn — or grow — your spouse’s trust?
Additional Resources
© 2020 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. Originally published on FocusOnTheFamily.com.
0800 200 362
support@family.org.nz
Rangiora, 7400, New Zealand