Love...

As we embark upon the weekend that boasts in love, I am ever so reminded of the love God has for me … for us. He has taught me what true love really is, not only in words, but also in deed. God gave His only Son to die in my place and for that I can never repay Him. How could I possibly? He did this not so that we would try to do things to repay Him for His sacrifice, but He did this to show us that He dearly loves us.

When I look at the marriage relationship between a man and a woman, I am often reminded of what the Apostle Paul spoke about in the fifth chapter of Ephesians:

²² Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. ²⁴ Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

This description led me to ponder how we ought to truly uphold our relationship, our commitment, with the Lord. For those who are married or in committed relationships, how do we value our mates? Do we respect them? Do we honor them? Do we consider their feelings, thoughts, and emotions? How about their dreams, visions, and aspirations? Well, God does, so much so that He teaches us Heavenly matters through earthly explanations in ways that we can understand them.

No one honestly desires to be trampled on, used, abused, and discarded. People don’t generally want to be the brunt of ridicule or maltreatment. So, when in a committed relationship, if we don’t want those things from a mate, we can certainly reason that God does not want that from us.

Do we love Him?

“If you love me, keep my commandments.” ~ John 14:15, NKJV.