Every Couple Needs A Sabbath

Every Couple Needs a Sabbath

God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:9

Some time ago, we spoke in a downtown church in Seattle that had a sense of humor. How do we know? This was on the sign in their parking lot: “Church parking only. We will not forgive those who trespass against us.”

Every church has its own personality. And when you find a church that fits with yours, as a couple, you are blessed.

Research has shown that couples who attend church even once a month increase their chances of staying married. Studies have also shown that churchgoers feel better about their marriages than those who don’t worship together. Attending church provides couples with a shared sense of values and purpose in life. It also provides couples with a caring community of support.

To cultivate spiritual intimacy in your marriage without incorporating the church is like trying to drive a car without a steering wheel. Billy Graham says, “Churchgoers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out.” Charles Colson goes as far as to say in his book The Body that “there is no such thing as Christianity apart from the Church.” You see, the church is more than just a group of people who meet on a regular basis. If that were the sole criterion, your workplace might be a church. But a church is a group of people who are called together by the gospel—the Good News—of Christ’s love and forgiveness. As the apostle Paul puts it, the church is called into partnership with God’s own Son (1 Corinthians 1:9).

From the beginning of our marriage, observing the Sabbath has been a systematic time of rest and renewal for our relationship. Dedicating a day of the week to attend church and worship with the body of Christ stabilizes our marriage and liberates us from the tyranny of productivity that drives our other days. How can you and your spouse observe the Sabbath together—finding worship and fellowship, rest and renewal?

Church attendance is as vital to a disciple as a transfusion of rich, healthy blood to a sick man.

—Dwight L. Moody