Linda Gilden

“It was right for woman to be made from a rib of man. First to signify the social union of man and woman, for the woman should neither use authority over man, and so she was not made from his head; nor was it right for her to be subject to man’s contempt as his slave, and so she was not made from his feet... ”

Thomas Aquinas understood the equality of partners in marriage and that both husband and wife should contribute equally to build a strong and lasting relationship.

There are probably as many different ways to have an extraordinary marriage as there are marriages in our country. But one thing we know for sure is God made man and then made him a helper. We know that God’s creation of man and woman to be together in marriage is sacred.

Genesis 2:18 says, “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”

It takes a lot of work to have a successful marriage, and you can’t have an extraordinary marriage without the contribution and commitment of both husband and wife.

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William says, "I can identify with Peter because I, too, love to fish. His emotions often got the best of him. But when he decided to get something done, he got it done. He loved Jesus with all his heart as I do. We both want to love him more every day."

Do you bear fruit? Perhaps you’ve never thought of yourself as bearing fruit. Biblical contemporaries grew their own foods, tended orchards, and depended on their crops for their livelihood. Thus, we have many biblical food illustrations. The fruit is the end product of the planting season. First comes the seed, which is placed strategically in the ground. The seeds of our fruit as a Christian are being planted throughout our lives. As the water of love, relationships, and experiences pours into us, the seed becomes active and begins to grow. When we accept Jesus into our lives, the seed sprouts and the Holy Spirit continues to nurture the seed of our fruit.

In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Obviously, we don’t walk around sprouting fruit from our appendages. But the result of our fruit or actions should be as sweet to the recipient and as pleasing to God as if we gave away scrumptious, edible fruit. What the big deal is about bearing fruit as a Christian? Should it matter to us? It matters to God. He created us to be in relationship with Him and to be His hands and feet on earth. The fruit is a sign we are in a solid relationship with God and we have chosen to produce “fruit” that blesses the lives of others and points them to God. If you are not sure what bearing fruit means and what the signs of the fruit in your life are, let’s take a closer look.

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