Crazy lil thing called LOVE!!!

Well tomorrow is the BIG day and at this point you have either been proactive and celebrated early; you're ready for the big moment; or you are scrambling now to get ready. Regardless of your preparation techniques, Valentines is coming tomorrow.

I always find this time of year interesting, because with 5 kids it has been difficult over the years to plan anything on this day. Many years I have to confess, the day has passed by without a thought. My wife and I both agree that celebrating your love for each other once a year is a bit absurd.  It is like going to church on just Easter and Christmas to say you love the Lord.  What kind of love does that really show?  But this year, I felt God calling me to something more.

Ultimately I felt Him saying, "If you love me then you will demonstrate your love to your wife." He emphasized the fact that, "if you truly love your wife, give it over to Me and I will make it happen."  So I did...I prayed about it long and hard - Before, during, and after (yes we celebrated early).   God began to show me how I could truly pour out my love to my wife and it was amazing how God's plan unfolded.  He is truly an Awesome God!  

So in my mind it was the Best Valentine's ever, but if you want the full story, you'll have to ask my wife via the comments section, because otherwise it would just be my prideful boasting. 



Tuxedo Strawberries in a matching
rice crispie basket.

 Anyway, there was a much deeper message that God was calling me to see here.  See if you truly love your spouse, then you will love them the way God has called you to.  So what does that mean?  Well the word tells us that a "[Husband, should love his wife], just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." ~ Eph 5:25.  This to me is one of the most powerful statements of the Bible.  Men, we are called to be: selfless, sacrificial, humble, loving, kind, not condemning, and full of Grace - simply because these are all the very characteristics that Christ has for us....the church.

So here is the hard question we have to ask ourselves when we truly give ourselves over to this verse - Do you love your spouse the way Christ's loves the church?  I know this is a hard question to deal with, because God is asking it of me right now.  But, the truth still remains that this is what God calls us to.  This is why we need Christ so much.  Because we cannot possibly love as He does without Him.  "We loved because He first loved us."    ~ 1 John 4:19.

If this is hitting a sore spot, then ask God to show you how You can change your character to reflect that of Christ.  Don't pray, fix my husband or fix my wife.  These types of prayer only show more flaws in our own character.  To truly show His love we must be willing to die to self, which means putting them first, as He did for us.

Our Prayer:
"God, May you show us how to love our spouse's as you love us.  Your love is the Greatest there is and that there ever was.  May we live out our love for you in the very way we love our wives / husbands.  Soften our hearts so that you may pour into us your full blessing.  Chip away at the flaws of our character that keep us from loving as you do.  It is in your son's Holy and Magnificent name that we pray.  AMEN!