‘Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. ‘ 1 John 3:18(NLT)
‘But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.’ James 1:22-25(NLT)
Devotional Content:
Do you ever feel that there are days when it is just a little bit hard to love your spouse? Are there days when he or she is in a horribly annoying bad mood or does things that just tick you off? If you have been married for any amount of time, your answer to both of these questions is probably yes. Those days happen, and far too many people base their love for a spouse on the feelings of the day. That just does not work very well, because marriage is a commitment. It is being in it for the long haul. It is a one-day- at-a-time deal, year after year.
Love is a place where we all want to be. We want the love of our life. We want a love that lasts a lifetime. This is all well and good, but over the course of a marriage, that word love needs to change from a noun to a verb. It has to be an action word. I am to love Nancy every day. It means putting her before me. It means being totally unselfish. It means serving her like Jesus served us. I have to make sure that love is an action word in my marriage. That’s my job.
Today’s Challenge:
Make love an action word in your marriage by serving your spouse like Jesus served us.
Going Deeper:
Think of three ways you can change your love for your spouse from a noun to a verb.
from Redefining Love by Dr. Kim Kimberling