A Slave for Love

ARE YOU A SLAVE FOR LOVE?

I remember the dating phase of my life very fondly. You meet. You go out. You talk. You have fun. You think to yourself, "Man, this guy sure is swell! I love spending time with him. He makes ME laugh. He buys ME flowers. He makes ME feel special....." Then you get married and you might hear something like, "Why am I always picking up HIS socks? Why do I have to put away HIS laundry? Why can't HE make HIS lunch?" (I can almost hear you giggling right now! You know we have all thought this at some point in our marriage!)

It's funny how we sometimes forget why God created marriage when we get married! Teamwork! You have weaknesses. He has weaknesses. You have strengths. He has strengths. When you unite, your combined strengths are so strong that it makes the impact of your weaknesses almost negligible! Think back to algebra, if the positives are greater than the negatives, you move FORWARD in a positive direction and leave the negatives in the dust! You will go further TOGETHER than you would INDIVIDUALLY. Your marriage becomes a POWERHOUSE!

There's a reason YOU pick up HIS socks. It's YOUR strength! And it also helps your husband out! There's a truth I learned not too long ago that our husbands are OVER-WORKED, OVER-STRESSED AND UNDER-SERVED. And that's exactly how the devil wants it. In football, if the opposing team can take away the key players' impact, they win the game. Your husband is a key player and leader in your family. When men are exhausted, they can't be the ultimate men, husbands, and fathers they are destined to be.

Matthew 20:26-28... whoever wants to become GREAT among you must be your SERVANT, and whoever wants to be FIRST must be your SLAVE— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to GIVE HIS LIFE as a ransom for many.”

These verses say it all. Want a GREAT marriage? SERVE! Want your marriage to SHINE? SLAVE for it. I love that Jesus used "slave" to drills this into us. It reminds us that we will need to do things we don't want to do. Then He says that's not enough. You must give it your all...YOUR LIFE! Wow!! Here's a person I love. I'm not only going to give him my love, devotion, and service. I give him MY LIFE! Whew! Digest that!

Lord, thank you for revealing such powerful truths and wisdom through Your Word. I am realizing that it's going to take more than what I am equipped with to make this happen. On my own, I get can get exhausted serving. I even grumble at times. I need Your love, strength and Spirit to offer my husband what You have called me to offer. Help me to recognize the areas in his life that need replenishment and let me come to his relief. Revive him. Revive me. Revive our marriage. We will give you the credit and glory! In Jesus' name. Amen!