Marital Intimacy, Part 1

Marital Intimacy. Ask the next ten people you talk with for a definition and see what they say. Chances are, they will likely dance around the subject of sex. And sadly enough, by confining the topic to the bedroom, we often follow social cues and norms. Unintentionally the church, as the pillar and support of truth, has diminished this multi-faceted gift.

But on this day, this day we sink roughly 16 billion into celebrating passion, I ask you to take time with your spouse and revisit the issue of marital intimacy. In order to help guide your discussion, I suggest that the initial focus be on the topic of spiritual intimacy within the context of marriage.

Certainly, there are various types of intimacy centering around the relational, social, and sexual aspects of life, yet it is this spiritual component that will inevitably color all others. So, what is spiritual intimacy within marriage? Where do we begin? What types of actions or attitude will be evident? How do we grow in spiritual intimacy? What if my mate is stuck? What if I think my mate is stuck, but I'm the real problem?

Open dialogue with your spouse, be willing to share your thoughts and stories with us, and may we all be open to God's design for our mariage.

And just for fun, go ahead and ask the next telemarkerter to define "intimacy". You might be surprised...