On The Go Daily Devotion for December 23, 2011
Brought to you each day by
Keith Cook Evangelistic Association / On The Go
I Love My Wife by Keith Cook
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"For those of you who are not married you are going to have to endure my tribute to the finest young lady in the land. For those of you who are married I am sure you could reflect the same sentiment that I am expressing." Keith
I love my wife and I want to show it, I want her to know it, and I want her to glow because of it.
Love is a fleeting thing in our culture. We say we love a football team, love nachos, love to read, and we love people. But I know that while we love all these things there is a difference in how deep our love is for these things or how committed we are to these things we say we love.
I love nachos but if the chips are stale or the cheese tastes like the can it came out off, I will toss them in the trash as fast as I can. Is that real love? It is a form of love, but aren't you glad your wife loves you more than nachos because sometimes you come in smelling pretty rotten and she still does not kick you out. And I am sure that your wife appreciates your not tossing her out for some of the rank leftovers that occasionally show up on the dinner table the second time around.
I love the Tennessee Titans football team but whenever I am watching a football game and they make a bad play I stand up and holler at the players and coaches with great intensity and fervor shout some very unkind insults and instructions. Is that love? Yes it is - but it is a rather fickle kind of love and I am sure your wife appreciates the fact that you don't stand on the couch yelling and screaming at her when she brings home a pink shirt for you to wear to the company picnic. And I am also sure that on the other hand - you appreciate her not blowing a gasket when you try to fix the sink and end up flooding the whole kitchen in water.
I love to read and will spend hours looking around an old bookstore for the perfect book. I will then start the book, and put it aside and not finish what I have started and quickly move on to a more interesting book. Is that love? Yes it is - but it is not the kind of love you have for your wife and thank the Lord it is not the kind of love she has for you. You both will never grow tired of each other and sit the other aside for a new version or updated copy. What you have is a classic kind of love that never goes out of style.
All of these examples contain love but they are finite and situational love. The kind of love a man and a woman are to have is an infinite kind of love. It is different from the love we have for pizza, feelings, or objects.
Love is even more than erotic or sexual. Some people think that making love is real love but it is not. It is simply one expression of what can happen when two people who love each other are together in the same room. Some people make love without being in love. That form of love is still and always will be a sin to God.
The best kind of love, outside of our love for Christ, is the love we can have with our spouses. It is eternal. It is blessed by God, ordained if you please, by Him. God is behind it, He is sponsoring it, He is recommending it and is guaranteeing it.
Loving your wife in this day and culture is hard because of all the outside forces coming against you. The media, the office, the school, the church, the in-laws, the children all have your love in their cross hairs.
Show some love to your spouse today. No matter what the odds, no matter how long the ties that bind have bound, or how good or bad it has been lately. Your love for them is not a sprint from moment to moment rather it is a steady race that weaves through your lifetime together. It is fun to run together. Just get back in the race and this race is run and won by love!
Daily Prayer Focus: Pray that God will show you specific ways to show your love for your spouse today. If you are not married, ask God to lead you to someone in need of love and encouragement today.
On The Go Prayer Focus: On The Go’s World Outreach Center (WOC). This is our main office and training facility. Pray for God to protect the building, guard the mechanical and structural aspects of the facility, and use the facility for maximum eternal benefits.
Thank you for taking the time to pray for this important division of On The Go Ministries. For more information on any our ministries here at On The Go, you may send your questions to info@onthego.org.
Copyright (c) 2007, 2011 Keith Cook - On The Go
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