The delight of loving your husband

Last night the discussion centered around two major thoughts:
First, The Bible uses just one word to describe many different kinds of love...in particular we looked at the love between a husband and a wife. We are called to love our husbands with a (phileo )love that is passionate and physical. Our husbands are called to love us with a sacrificial love (agapeo). Isn't it amazing that we each are called to love in a way that is not the most "natural" to us? As women we may not be as strong in showing a passionate, affectionate love. And by the same breath, men are exhorted to love sacrificially which is often not the easiest for them. However, we must believe that if God calls us to love this way it is attainable through His power and grace.
If your marriage is difficult, we as Christian wives must look to the one who created marriage and purposed "YOUR" marriage. The Sovereign God joined you two and He has His seal on the union. If you are in a trying situation, "cast your cares upon Him". His shoulders are wide and His arms are strong. He is our burden carrier, "The Man of Sorrows"...He hears every word, He sees every tear. He will help you!
Carolyn makes this statement:
"Loving our husbands with a tender and passionate love is not something that happens automatically...Ever since Adam and Eve took the fatal bite of forbidden fruit our natural human inclination has shifted toward sin. Therefore, we are not naturally prone to love. We are not naturally inclined to be passionate and respectful to our husbands....but we must learn how to adopt this kind of love...Loving our husbands is a learned response through the grace of God. The good news is that God is eager to teach us this love"

Second: We discussed the trouble with Christian marriage today is that so much of the world's thinking has crept inside our views and thoughts of what marriage is.
We hear, a marriage is a partnership..."I do 50% and he does 50%. "
Or we hear "He is just not satisfying my needs"
"I am just not getting anything out of this relationship"
The focus is always self-centered and fleshly. So the problem begins in our minds...in how we think this marriage ought to look like, and feel like and breathe like. But we are getting our view and perspective from the wrong source. We must get that out and begin to see marriage as God sees it. Each one responsible for 100% no matter what the other does. And can I say we have 100% of God also commited to our marriages!

We also discussed romance...for us women in begins in our minds. How we must start LOOKING at our husbands and remembering who it was that we fell in love with. Those qualities and those features are still there but they to have been weighted down and often buried deep because of their responsibility to provide for a wife, children, mortgages, employees...etc. The weight of life has put much on our husbands...we must lovingly and gently draw those first-time qualities out.

Elizabeth Elliot has a wonderful phrase: "The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, BUT the fact that I am Christian makes me a different kind of woman"
We are Christian women who know the creator of marriage. We know that His ways are not our ways. We know that He began marriage as He saw that is was not good for Adam to be alone. As all creation was "good" and declared "good" The Almighty saw something missing and called it "not good" From there He created woman to be Adam's helper. What a great privilege it is to be a helper...to assist...to

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