The Church is not only God s precious gift to Himself, but it is God s precious gift to the people in the Church. Christian couples should nurture friendships with other believers who are also seeking to glorify God in their marriage. Accountability, encouragement, prayer, and fellowship with other couples enrich and strengthen marriage relationships, helping them to persevere when storms come. Many women have unique pressures in their marriage relationship, and they, too, need the support of Christ s Church. Christian women who are married to unbelieving spouses can find help and hope from other saints who are coping in the same situation.
Young mothers can find strength for each new day from other Christian mothers.
Such friendships help alleviate loneliness, exhaustion, and depression, and they help take the pressure off husbands to meet all of the wife s primary needs for affection and conversation. Couples must learn to recognize the spiritual battle being waged for their marriage. Marriage plays an important role in God s mission in the world. Marriage is a visible, tangible representation of the intimacy Christ has with His church. Satan s goal is to thwart this love relationship, and he succeeds when Christian marriages fail.