MY MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE
MY MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE
A DAILY DEVOTIONAL
MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2024
NIYI ODUNSI
THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL
Greater Love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
It is worth observing that the Bible is indeed very specific about the measure of Love that God commands a man to have for his wife. If God had just commanded husbands to love their wives without giving any specifications, then men would of course be at liberty to determine the degree to which they could love their wives.
One important truth about the Love of the Lord Jesus is that it is completely selfless and sacrificial. His death was voluntary, He told his disciples that he was laying down his life, nobody could take his life from him. His death was an act of faith. He died believing that humanity would respond to his love.
The mindset of our Lord is most striking and instructive. Often there’s a debate about whose responsibility it is to first obey God with respect to submission and love. The Bible commands wives to submit to their husband and husbands to love their wives. So who goes first? Is the wife to submit before the husband loves her or is the husband to love before she submits to him?
And so, when a marriage is failing you find something like the mystery of the chicken and the egg. Which comes first? But we see that the Lord Jesus Christ didn’t wait for humans to submit to his authority before he loved us and gave Himself for us. So, if you follow that logic, a husband has to love his wife by faith, believing that she will respond in submission.
If you are a man, until you are ready to love the one you marry, not expecting anything in return, you’re not ready for marriage. And if you’re married, well its time to love your wife without expecting anything in return. The reason you have to love her that way is because God commands it, not because you feel that way.
And what if she doesn’t submit to you in return? Well, there are people in the world who are still not submissive to the Lord Jesus even though He loves them and He died for them. He hasn’t stopped loving them either. It might take some time for your wife to respond to your acts of love. Be comforted in the words of 1 Corinthians 13:8,. “Love never fails”. If its true Love, your wife will respond, eventually.
PRAYER
I thank you Lord Jesus for giving me insight into how to love my wife sacrificially, just as you love me. I receive Grace to love my wife without expecting anything in return. I believe according to your word that love never fails and sooner than later, my wife will respond to my love for her.
FURTHER STUDY
Ephesians 5:25, 1 Corinthians 13:8, Romans 5:6