Cherish Your Spouse

Cherish Your Spouse “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 When I think about this scripture I think about how much I love my wonderful wife Margaret. We have just celebrated 48 wonderful years together. I think about our life together, our happy times, our struggles, our children, but most of all the love, and the life we have shared together. She has made my life complete as I believe God made her especially for me, as he knew that I needed someone like her in my life. Our home has been one of love, acceptance and forgiveness. I believe that the foundation of any Christian home is based on these three things, love, acceptance and forgiveness. A home without these three ingredients will never be complete. But to have these three ingredients, I believe that this is only possible when God is at the center of the home. God intended all families to be a place where both the husband and the wife are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. So many families in today’s society try to do it themselves, without the presence of God in their homes, and I believe this is why there are so many broken families. When we depend upon ourselves to make financial decisions, relationship decisions, family decisions and all the other decisions that are made by the husband and wife, without the guidance of our God, this is where problems begin to appear. The Bible gives a family the guidance, understanding and wisdom to handle any kind of issue that will arise. Proverbs 2:10-11 “For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.” An ideal marriage is one in which both the husband and wife is giving to the other at all times. It is a marriage where each spouse places the others needs above their own. If both are giving all they have to the other, both are also receiving as well. If either spouse is not giving fully to the other the other is not receiving fully, which is where problems will develop. Agape love is a giving love. We must also give our spouse an unqualified acceptance. Each spouse will bring both strengths and weaknesses into the marriage. It is the responsibility of each spouse to not compete, intimidate, degrade or act superior to the other, but to accept them as they are. They are your life-mate and someone that you will share your life with. Our efforts should be to build up, not tear down our spouse at any time. Always support them in their endeavors, never criticizing, embarrassing them, but always uplifting them in whatever they do. Forgiveness is the other key ingredient that a successful marriage must have. We must be willing to forgive and forget. There will be things that occur in any marriage that we must forgive our spouse of. We must be able to put these in the past and move on. There is a scripture in the Bible that tells us to “never let the sun go down while you are angry. This is so important to not let problems fester and become greater than they need to. This is where communication needs to come in, know what they are feeling, what their thoughts are, and resolve them before they become cancers that can destroy your marriage. Your spouse must receive full attention and a praiseworthy quality at all times, as this helps to ensure future benefits worthy of the others honor and respect. I know that my wife Margaret is a gift, a blessing from God, and we must always remember to treat them as such, one of God’s blessings. She is my best friend, and a valuable and important part of my life, and is a part of the grace for me here on earth. Just remember that Jesus loves you, accepts you and forgives you, which is such good advice for any marriage. Cherish your spouse, as God has given them to you, they are your life mate, love them as they are God’s blessing to you. My Daily Devotional Volume Six August 23 Robert William Brock, Jr.