Happy Valentine's Day! Feb. 14th will be upon us soon and let me be the first to let you know that married, engaged or single....you are loved! With "everlasting love" Jeremiah 31:3 It's a love that is deeper than any human love imaginable. Rejoice in this love!
Recently my husband gave me an article by Ruth Bell Graham called, "Ever-deepening Love."
Ruth started by saying that she pities the couple who expects too much from each other. She said it is foolish if a woman expects her husband to be to her what only Jesus Christ Himself can be.
"Jesus is always ready to forgive, totally understanding, unendingly patient, invariably tender and loving, unfailing in every area, anticipating every need and making more than adequate provision."
Her thoughts were that if we expect our imperfect husbands to be what the Lord Jesus is, perfect, it puts great pressure on him.
What woman could be all these things to her husband? I'm know that I fall short in many of these areas. What if our husbands put pressure on us to be perfect at all times? I think I'd be a wreck!
Perhaps this Valentine's day, if we are married, we might look for the ways our husband is loving to us rather than expecting him to be. Perhaps when we look for the good, we will find it?
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4 comments:
Hi Linda
I don't think we expect our husbands to be what only the Lord Jesus can be, but I also don't think it is an unreasonable expectation to want him to be those things, even if it is in limited capabilities and quantities.
I believe the majority of men expect their wives to be self reliant and/or go to the Lord for what they as men lack or are unwilling to give of themselves. It requires a great deal of effort on their part, for which they will often excuse themselves as being pressured to do something they're not capable of because it's not in their nature.
I don't pity the couples who have these expectations of eachother, it is natural, I do pity the ones that believe in martyrdom--that they don't really need these things from their spouse. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."
There are needs and longings that can only be fulfilled by God, others can only be fulfilled by our mate.
I believe there are times when we can take the pressure off our spouse, to maintain harmony and to achieve a desired result, but it should in no way excuse them.
I don't expect Tom to exhibit Christ-like behavior since he isn't saved yet, but morally I do have certain expectations of him, just as much as he has of me.
Philippians 4:8 :)
Hi Debi,
Some challenging thoughts....how to relate to our men without feeling like a doormat and becoming one!
I'm still learning about this one!
Thanks for your thoughts!
Linda
Thanks Anna....that's a beautiful verse one I need daily!
Linda
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