If He/She Would/Wouldn’t Then…..
If He would just lead me, if She would just quit nagging me! How often we have heard these words or similar statements, husbands and wives offering excuses for disobeying God’s command for Husbands to Love their Wife and Wives to Respect their Husband. God makes it clear in Matthew 5:44 that we are to love our enemies and our spouses are not even our enemies, even if it seems like it at times. If we are to love our enemies it is pretty clear that loving our spouse is a given and it is not to be measured by their performance or how they have treated us in the last 48 hours.
So here is the question, do you use your spouse’s sin as an excuse to avoid living out God’s command for Husbands to love your wife and Wives to respect your husband? Husbands, do you love your Wife the way God commands you to? Loving her like Christ loved the church, sacrificing everything for her, making her well-being of primary importance, and be willing to die to self daily for her. By the way, God is not giving us men a suggestion, it is a COMMAND! Can you, will you do that without any expectations or requirements from her? Wives can you respect your husband even when their actions do not warrant respect (again not a suggestion but a command)? Can you do it out of reverence for God? That is loving like Jesus and you can only love like Jesus if you love Jesus!
What if we as Christians awoke each and every morning with the primary purpose to reveal Jesus Christ to everyone we come in contact with, starting with our spouse and then our kids? Where might that desire come from? Only through an insatiable love of Jesus, is it possible. Jesus makes it clear in John 15:5 that we can do nothing apart from Him. You cannot tap into that power source if you do not know and love Him and you cannot know someone you never talk or listen to. We promise you God will give you the desire for Him if you ask. In fact, we suggest that asking God to help you love Him should be your first prayer each day.
Jesus is the answer you are looking for to build or rebuild your marriage into the institution God created it to be. You can try every marriage class and conference, read every marriage book written, and go to every counselor you can find but without understanding God’s intent and purpose for marriage, and knowing that your only hope is in Jesus your efforts will be in vain!
Couples we meet with most often share one common denominator and that is a lack of time spent with God. Time worshipping Him, confessing sins, giving thanks, and sharing their hearts with Him. And the biggie is lack of, or in 95% of situations, no time spent in prayer together.
We recently listened to a video by Jimmy Evans called “God’s Purpose for Marriage” and here are a couple of nuggets we would like you to think about and discuss: Jimmy states………
Genesis 3 is not about the fall of man but the fall of marriage!
Children are being sacrificed on the ALTAR of one or both parents happiness, or what they believe to be happiness.
Always remember our marriages are meant to Tell the Truth about the Gospel!
Pray Continually,
Mike & Jill