"He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it." (Ephesians 5:28-29)
(The Message Bible proclaims) "Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church- a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk- radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor- since they're already "one" in marriage.
No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband." (Ephesians 5:28-31)
What an Awesome picture of perfection I thought this was! But, of course none of us are perfect; alas this just gives us something to strive towards! We can give of ourselves without expecting "something" in return. This includes our time, energies, $money$. We all tend to "Spend our Time & $Money$ on whom or what we love! This says a great deal about a person... How is your "energy" spent throughout the day?! Are you lacking it when it comes time to "give" to your mate?! What can you do to improve on this area?!
Are you "one" with your mate in everyday routine decisions?! How about major decisions?! Purchases, where you go on vacation... do you have one at all!? Even simple choices like what to have or where to go for dinner! Whatever doesn't unite you; can divide you! No matter how trivial at the time the matter seems!
Do you bring out the "Best" or the "worst" in your mate? Only you as the spouse can know the answers... Strive to fully bring out the "Best Yet;" yet keep the "worst" hidden away! Remember, this is greatly to your advantage! You will truly feel Better & your spouse will be a "better" person as the result!
Feed, nourish & Pamper each other... this will be different for us all! "Feed" on the Word together and separately. "Feed" each others "Needs"... again this will be different for each person! The one constant is we all have needs! If you don't know or understand each other's needs; find them out!
Finally, pamper each other! Some of us tend to "Pamper" ourselves, our kids, pets, even cars... but what about your spouse?! I will allow you your own definition... but it doesn't just involve $Money$ especially in these hard times!!
*Love Dare* Do something this week that shows your spouse you are "one" with them! Ask them what their needs are and work on fulfilling as many of them as you can!
Recommitting to Love, Honor & Cherish MY Beloved!!!
JKEST-Vicki
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