Open Heaven 22 September 2024: True Love
MEMORISE: 1 Peter 3:7
“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”
READ: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (KJV)
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional Here
The Bible says that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25). This analogy alone is enough to tell us straightaway that love is not an emotion or feeling, but a decision to consistently act in the best interest of your spouse. In other words, the best interest of your spouse should become a priority to you.
In Luke 22:42, Jesus did not feel like dying for the church. He tried to convince God to let the impending suffering and death pass over Him. He prayed so hard that His sweat was like blood, but what had to be done, had to be done. He went to the cross, suffered shame, pain, and death for the ones He loved. That is what husbands are to do for their wives; love them as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her. Husband, can you do this for your wife?
When I see Christian husbands buying new clothes and shoes for themselves while their wives wear old, worn out clothes, I wonder if they even read their Bibles at all. Worse still are the men who beat their wives. As a husband, if you love your wife, you will take good care of her and put her interests above yours. Money will be too small to sacrifice to make her happy. In Nigeria, men of the Igbo tribe are renowned for truly caring for their wives. In Igbo land, any man that beats his wife or does not take care of her is called an Efulefu. An Efulefu is someone who is way below useless, empty, and who has nothing good to offer. This is a generally held belief among people who are not all believers, how much more Christians who have been directed by God to take care of their wives and families (1 Timothy 5:8).
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. – (Ephesians 5:28)
The Scripture above instructs husbands to love their wives as they love their own bodies. Just as they eat good food, put on good clothes, and do not allow any harm to come to their bodies, they are to treat their wives the same way. As a husband, you should use the best of your resources, words, and actions to show your wife that you love her. When you do this, you are a good husband indeed, and one advantage that a good husband has, according to today’s memory verse, is that God hears his prayers.
REFLECTION:
As a husband, are you taking good care of your wife? Can anyone see her and tell that you truly love her?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Micah 5-7
Open Heaven 22 September 2024
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