Love Cherishes
Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies.- Ephesians 5.28
Consider these two scenarios.
A man's older car begins having serious trouble, so he takes it to a mechanic. After an assessment is made, he is told it will need a complete overhaul, which would tax his limited budget. He determines to get rid of the car and spend his funds on a new vehicle.
Another man, an engineer, accidentally crushes his hand in a piece of equipment. He rushes to the hospital and has it x-rayed, finding numerous bones are broken. He willingly uses his savings to have it doctored and gingerly nurses it back to health.
The problem with our culture is that marriage is more often treated like the first scenario. When you relationship experiences difficulty, you're urged to dump your spouse for a "newer model" The truth is, marriage is more like the second scenario. You are a part of another. You would never cut off your hand if it was injured and would pay whatever you could afford for the best medical treatment possible. That's because your hand is priceless to you. It is part of who you are.
And so is your mate. Marriage is a beautiful mystery created by God, joining two lives together as one. This not only happens physically but spiritually and emotionally. Ephesians 5.28-29 says, "Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it."
This verse speaks to husbands but notice how each member is viewed. They are both considered to be the same flesh. You must treat them with the same nurture and care that you treat yourself. When you show love to your spouse, you are showing love to yourself as well.
The flip side also applies. When you mistreat your spouse, you are also mistreating yourself. It's time to let love change your thinking. It's time for you to realize that your spouse is as much a part of you as your hand, your eye, or your heart.
Think about how you treat your spouses physical body. Do you cherish it as your own? Do you treat it with respect and tenderness? Do you take pleasure in who they are?
Don't let the culture around you determine the worth of your marriage. To compare it with something that can discarded or replaced is to dishonor God's purpose for it. It should be a picture of love between two imperfect people who choose to love each other regardless.
Today's Dare
What need does your spouse have that you could meet today? Can you run an errand? Give a back rub or foot massage? Is there housework you could help with? Choose a gesture that says, "I cherish you" and do it with a smile.
7 comments:
Thank you for stopping by my blog! I am trying to keep up. I love that you are posting all this up here! I bought the book the day that I watched Fireproof. Its been rough, but my husband has taken a bit of an interest, and he has expressed that he doesn't have the to read the book (when its not clutched in my hands firmly!!) and so I have sent him to read your blog! :) Thanks a bunch for your encouragement and support. See ya tomorrow!
Today, I made one of lovebugs favorite meals for him. Spaghetti, french bread with lots of melted cheese. For dessert, one of his favorites, cherry cheesecake. He was very happy, he told me his stomach was smiling. Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for another wonderful day spent loving my husband. It makes me smile whenever I am able to bring any happiness to him. Please help me to always bring smiles his way. Amen
Yesterday's followup is a little hard for me to answer because it makes me think not only how I would answer it but how my husband might answer it... and honestly, I don't want to have to think on that...
So I will tell you this- I love my husband. Sometimes because I feel like it and sometimes because I choose to. But never because of what he looks like or what he does... (though some positive things done by him ellicit friendly emotions... but I suppose that's true for all relationships.)
I am grateful for him. And I pray daily that I would see Jesus in Him always and love him unconditionally just as Christ loves me.
I am ever grateful to God for allowing me to share my life with sweetman. Two years after we were married he had major surgery, which has changed him forever but he is alive today because of the surgery. God is so Good!!!
Yesterday's post definately caused me to reevaluate.
I need to love him period and I am thankful my husband is patient and waits for this to occur.
God is bombarding me from many angles with supports for my marriage these days. I am beginning to feel HIS presence after a long void. Praise God.
I am only on day six, but I linked to your day six since I blogged about that day! Hope you don't mind.
Oh, I've fallen behind due to my daughter's visit from Texas!! But, I'm in the process of catching up.
My answers to this are just so long, so I posted them on The Power of Your Love with a link to your blog.
If anyone is interested (and I hope you are because so much progress is being made in me and my children), please stop by and visit!
I'm loving this challenge and how it has brought me back to the very knowledge that God loves me, He has chosen me--and through Him, through His love for me--I can show Him to my children.
Beth
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