He pursues her.
He loves her.
He cherishes her.
He values her.
He honors her.
Whom is He?
God.
As women we begin as babies tucked safely in our mother's wombs and yet God already knows us down to all our fingers and toes. We grow into little girls who love jump rope, hopscotch, dolls and crayons. We blossom into teenagers with our mother's smile in our eyes and a glittering future ahead, ready to take on the world with our evolving selves into womanhood. We become women… independent of anyone but God…. later brides to be, wives…. then maybe mothers and with strong deft hands we drive a car, type a document, clip coupons and change a baby's diaper…. we are strong, capable and yes, first and foremost always God's daughter. We, the little girl at six or seven who stood in the hallway listening to her parents fight behind the bedroom door…. we, the little girl who was kissed on the playground during recess and then cried…. we, the little girl who was called ugly names and shunned but still believed in a world of beauty, where raindrops held glitter, prisms were earrings and everyone treated each other with kindness and respect… and we, the little girl who would not at all be able to picture herself at 30 or beyond but now that she is… she looks back at that little girl… and loves her like a little girl loves a Care Bear with all her might…. and knows that as a woman, as a wife, as a mom, that no one will ever love her as much as God.
God Loves You
Her husband may love her but he's not the first. The first to love her was the Lord, even long before she was born. A wife is a gift to her husband and let him not forget the value in God's precious gifts from above. When a husband treats his wife as a second class citizen, as lower than he, he is not treating her according to God's word. Jesus loved women…. he loved his mother dearly and he sought the woman at the well showing his character that may not have been popular but was undeniably right.
A husband may think "I'm a good enough husband. I'm not great, but I'm not awful either. I mean, I haven't cheated. I don't go to to bars, get drunk and pick up women."
The commandments God has given us are the basics, the foundation, if you will …. to not sin, to not commit adultery, to not let his family come between he and his wife, and more. Yet today it seems in our culture people want a big ribbon, a trophy or fanfare because they met what they view as the basic requirements for martial success.
Hold up…. not so fast.
We can strive for not just "good enough" but great in our marriages.
And yet that requires God's help.
This means relying on Him.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it.
- Ephesians 5:25 - King James Bible
A husband who loves his wife as God loves her like a daughter…
A husband never leaves his wife - he will never threaten, never walk out, he will not ever threaten divorce or speak of it. God would never abandon his daughter.
A husband is gentle - when a wife is frustrated & unlovable, he still loves and is slow to anger, gentle with his words. God does not condemn but convict with love and teaching.
A husband knows that they are one - he and his wife are a team, they function as one and will not allow anyone to come between them… outsiders, co-workers, family and his mother. God desires three in a marriage, Him, the husband and the wife.
A husband speaks life - he does not engage in ugly, foul, disparaging talk about his wife to anyone, to other men, or share in their private intimate marital moments. He does not give time to other men who voice this nonsense as he knows this does nothing but bring death. God expects us to produce life.
************
Love is not a feeling… but a choice that we choose everyday. We are the Lord's daughter and He loves us with mercy when we sin, when we fail, when we stumble, guilty as charged, yet our punishment withheld and instead unmerited grace, favor given by Him. This is the example of love He wishes us to give also and what we should look for in the man we marry. When we choose a Godly man who will in turn be a Godly husband, when we marry a believer who values women as the Lord does… we will be marrying a man with a Godly attitude. A man who won't be resignedly sighing... "But I don't go to the bars or cheat…" A man who doesn't believe in "good enough" but instead Godly. A man who serves, who provides without guilt-tripping his wife that he does. A man who chooses friends that don't view women as merely suppliers of lust, sex and pleasure. A man who will hold your hand in church and sings God's praises as he looks into your eyes with the long haul in his heart. A man who will wipe your tears when your mascara has ruined your face because P.S. I Love You makes you cry like a baby. A man who prays for you when you're sick for no obvious reason and bundles you up, taking you to every specialist in town until he has some darn good answers and won't stop until he does. A man who will hold you when your heart is breaking in a pool of tears after a string of useless evaluations that still doesn't give any explanation for why your son's development is not on target. A man who buys you the pink frosted cupcakes and maxi pads when you're on your period at ten p.m. at night. A man who gives you a back rub without expecting sex because you did five loads of laundry, cared for two children and helped him type his latest project for work…. well, just because.
Because he loves you.
And you love him.
JUST AS GOD DOES.
© gps-gracepowerstrength.blogspot.com ~ 2013
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