This week's Marriage Minute is written by the most intelligent and handsome man I know, my husband Dustin. He is a true marvel -- a man after God's own heart and my True North, always steady, guiding me, keeping me grounded and going in the right direction.
I gave him free reign to share whatever was on his heart, and if you like what you read, let us know by commenting & he will be contributing on a more regular basis in the future.
When A Blessed Nest was launched a month ago, my wife Megan asked if I would be interested in contributing to it. She shared with me that she planned to do a series on marriage called the Marriage Minute. Last week when I was at work, the Holy Spirit put so many ideas and thoughts on my heart to share through the MM, so today is my first contribution.
The thought that came to me last week in the midst of my normal routine at work was "Love has never not won," so that is the platform off which I am launching this post.
What if there was a strategy that
never, ever lost? What if there was a way to live that had an eternal ripple
effect on you and anyone toward whom you adopted this attitude? What if there was
no law against this method, and what if no charge or accusation could ever
bring it to trial? What if you fully committed yourself to this strategy? What
would happen?
Well, you would never lose. You would be undefeatable.
Love is that strategy. Love is that
choice. Love is that commitment. Think about it: Has anyone, throughout
history, broken the law for truly loving someone too much, specifically their husband or wife? The thought is preposterous! In last week’s MM, my wife shared
about how love is a choice (click HERE to read more) - love is much more than a
feeling; it is an act, and that act - the act of unconditional love - cannot
and will not ever be found guilty.
In Galatians 5:22-23, the apostle
Paul writes, “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self control. Against
such things there is no law.”
Love is untouchable from the law. If
there is no law against love, then there is no penalty against it either. The risk is removed. There
are no repercussions. Why let anything or anyone stop us from carrying out a
plan - a strategy - of love, every day?
So what does the Love Strategy look
like?
Simply asked, does love put up with anything and everything? Definitely.
Does love require constant patience and long suffering? Certainly. Does love
mean putting someone else’s needs ahead of your own? Yes, all the time. Does
love always look for the best, without looking back, and instead keeps moving
forward? Always.
This strategy can and should stretch
outside of a marriage, however, I believe a marriage is where it should start.
Think about it, if I'm choosing to meet all of my wife's needs ahead of my own
and she's choosing to meet all my needs ahead of her own, it's a
win, win. We would both be walking and living in victory and love. Our marriage
would become so successful, blessed
and empowered with the Love Strategy approach. To be the more empowered
person, to be the winner of every moment, to be victorious in every situation,
just choose to be the one who always loves.
To melt a heart, to start to win and to always win in your marriage, begin to love. Endlessly, passionately, unconditionally...love. Look past the mistakes, sins and disappointments your relationship has experienced. Look past the tough days, the disagreements and the frustration you have encountered. Keep in mind that you are a sinner and you married a sinner, so mistakes and disappointments are a part of life.
But 1 Peter 4:8 reminds us:
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sin."
Love does cover all. It always has. It covers all sin -- every disappointment, mistake, failure, disagreement, and frustration -- if we choose to walk in love, both in our marriage and outside of it -- those things are only temporary and we can learn and grow from them, but the most important lesson we should gain from those experiences is to learn how to love.
Remember that Jesus, the ultimate example
of love, never, ever lost. He was perfect,
triumphant, and victorious in everything He did with every person He met.
Why? Because He did everything in love. Let that be a lesson to us all.
Love never
loses. It never has and it never will.
Love always wins.
Beautifully written!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sarah, God bless you!
ReplyDeleteThis was amazing...I vote more! more! more! It's so nice to hear a man's perspective on things. I've often thought about having my husband share some things on my blog and now I'm even more motivated to include him!
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