Winning the Battle of Life: Love and Marriage
Before I had a personal relationship with Jesus, I thought love was for the romance and marriage was for joining together in a struggle with life. I had no clue that marriage operated best when love is the core foundation of everything you do.
I thought it was as Tina Turner once sang, "What's love gotta do with it?" After my life was changed by accepting the love of God I realized that love has everything to do with it! The core foundation of a lasting marriage is pure unconditional love. The husband must be the loving leader and the wife must love and respect her husband completely. Colossians 3:19, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." This verse commands a man to love his wife.
Ephesians 5:25-33,"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church -for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." this is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
It is impossible to be happily married to anyone who does not love their own self. If you do not love yourself, how can you possible extend love to anyone else? We try to give love, but first it must be accepted within before it can be extended outwards. If a man hates himself, he will hate his wife. If a man is low in esteem, he will esteem his wife lowly as well. However, when a woman does not love herself, she does not respect herself. If she does not respect herself, it is nearly impossible for her to respect her husband. The reason why the Scriptures tell the men to love his wife and the wife to respect her husband is because a man's love is expressed through his own image of who he is; and a woman's love is expressed through her own self-respect.
You must first love you before you can love anyone else. Love is the core foundation that is poured down first to build the house of marriage. Without pure unconditional love (True love) the marriage will fall. True love is the love that is required to sustain a relationship through the ups and downs of life. Any other foundation will crack and break your marriage apart. You cannot build a marriage on the foundation of convenience or money or sex or lust. Those types of foundation will split, crack and soon cave under, causing your entire house of marriage to be out of alignment and finally come tumbling down.
When your marriage is based on true love, even after 30 years have passed; he still makes your heart jump when you see him after a long day; his presence lingers on you after he has said good-bye; you can sense when something is not right with him; you pray for him without ceasing, you love to hear his laugh, see his smile and you still love the touch of his hands, and the kiss of his lips. You love him and you can work through the ups and downs of life, because you know that you rather have him then silver or gold. Because two of you have become one it becomes impossible to hurt him without hurting yourself. God has joined you together and the Lord acts as the witness between you and him. There is a covenant between you and him that can never be broken. The covenant was cut with love and bound with Christ. Marriage and love becomes just Love facing life and whatever it may bring.
This is why it is important that you do not yoke yourself with just anyone. Marriage is a yoke of love that binds families together forever.
I pray that you and your husband will have such a love and marriage. And, if you are single I pray that you will wait for the one who brings true love to your soul and you and he become one Love.
For Him Only,
Pastor Patricia
I thought it was as Tina Turner once sang, "What's love gotta do with it?" After my life was changed by accepting the love of God I realized that love has everything to do with it! The core foundation of a lasting marriage is pure unconditional love. The husband must be the loving leader and the wife must love and respect her husband completely. Colossians 3:19, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." This verse commands a man to love his wife.
Ephesians 5:25-33,"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church -for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." this is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
It is impossible to be happily married to anyone who does not love their own self. If you do not love yourself, how can you possible extend love to anyone else? We try to give love, but first it must be accepted within before it can be extended outwards. If a man hates himself, he will hate his wife. If a man is low in esteem, he will esteem his wife lowly as well. However, when a woman does not love herself, she does not respect herself. If she does not respect herself, it is nearly impossible for her to respect her husband. The reason why the Scriptures tell the men to love his wife and the wife to respect her husband is because a man's love is expressed through his own image of who he is; and a woman's love is expressed through her own self-respect.
You must first love you before you can love anyone else. Love is the core foundation that is poured down first to build the house of marriage. Without pure unconditional love (True love) the marriage will fall. True love is the love that is required to sustain a relationship through the ups and downs of life. Any other foundation will crack and break your marriage apart. You cannot build a marriage on the foundation of convenience or money or sex or lust. Those types of foundation will split, crack and soon cave under, causing your entire house of marriage to be out of alignment and finally come tumbling down.
When your marriage is based on true love, even after 30 years have passed; he still makes your heart jump when you see him after a long day; his presence lingers on you after he has said good-bye; you can sense when something is not right with him; you pray for him without ceasing, you love to hear his laugh, see his smile and you still love the touch of his hands, and the kiss of his lips. You love him and you can work through the ups and downs of life, because you know that you rather have him then silver or gold. Because two of you have become one it becomes impossible to hurt him without hurting yourself. God has joined you together and the Lord acts as the witness between you and him. There is a covenant between you and him that can never be broken. The covenant was cut with love and bound with Christ. Marriage and love becomes just Love facing life and whatever it may bring.
This is why it is important that you do not yoke yourself with just anyone. Marriage is a yoke of love that binds families together forever.
I pray that you and your husband will have such a love and marriage. And, if you are single I pray that you will wait for the one who brings true love to your soul and you and he become one Love.
For Him Only,
Pastor Patricia
I too experienced the understanding of having God's love and loving myself first before offering love into a relationship. As a newly wed, I also know the depth of our love falls with God's love at the core base. The covenant between my husband and I can never be broken because as Rev. Trish states, this time our love has been bound with Christ. This means the love is everlasting through the good and the bad because if for no other reason, but our love for Christ. Our love is unbreakable because of the bond. This means we never disrespect, cross, cheat, lie, or do anything that is ungodly because if we do we are doing these things to one of God's children. And in love, the last one you want to disappoint is God. Wives, love and submit to your husbands in the same way God has held you, loved you, and treated you so dearly throughout your journey of true love.
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