I’ve known a number of marriages where the wife has become a Christian after the marriage but the husband is not. This can be a difficult situation for any marriage. What can you do if you are in this situation?
What often happens is because a person is committed to the truth, they can’t stand to see those they love not accepting that same truth. The thought of being cut off forever from those you love and spending eternity without them is indeed a frightening one.
Don’t be so intense about trying to get them to see the truth that you keep harping at them and trying to get them to come to church. Often what happens in a case like this is that it makes them more resistant and more stubbornly set in the ways.
The problem often occurs because the person who has become a Christian can tend to feel superior because they have come to believe the truth. Wives in particular need to be wary of this and of thinking that means they are better than their husband and should take the spiritual lead. Such an attitude can spell danger to a marriage. Husbands can feel threatened by the change in the wives and it can make a husband feel insignificant.
By all means pray for your husband and for God to be at work in their life but don’t keep telling them that. It’s between you and God. Neither should you share it with too many other people, perhaps just one or two who you can trust to keep it confidential between them and God. Many a nonbeliever has been damaged and become more resistant when they hear others have been praying for them. They tend to take it as a criticism that they need help.
Instead of preaching at them, a better way is given in 1 Peter 3:1-4. Don’t talk about what you believe, but instead show it by the way you live. Let your love and actions speak to them and trust God to be at work changing their heart and attitudes.
Join me tomorrow for more on this subject.
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