A marriage without the fruit of the Holy Spirit is doomed to discord, hurt feelings, resentment and a lack of overall harmony. We fail to love one another as Christ loves us.
Women need love and attention
from a relationship and men need admiration and respect. Sometimes it is hard
to give one another what we need most, because our words and actions cause each
other to feel unappreciated and devalued.
However, if we related to one
another with the attitude of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and
we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and actions, we build up one
another in love (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
We attract from each other a
loving response and positive feelings even if we are in the middle of a
disagreement. Patience, gentleness, humility, love, goodness, self-control and
joy go a long way in affirming one another and showing one another the love and
respect that we both crave.
These attitudes cause us to
really listen to our goals, what each of us needs, our fears, our successes, etc.
We do not fight against one another as adversaries, but fight for each other as
allies in this sin-cursed world.
We communicate our true feelings
about our circumstances and we find a Plan C if we cannot live with the
decision our mate wants us to make. We do not insist on our own way, but really
listen to our mate's needs and feelings in every circumstance.
We forgive easily and we do not
hold grudges or stuff our feelings, which cause our emotions to erupt another
day when the original situation is long forgotten.
The fruit of God's Spirit makes
it easier to apologize when we hurt each other's feelings or carelessly make a
statement or action that is insensitive to one another's needs.
Prayer:
Father God, teach us to listen to
each other, and to want above all to help each other to feel fulfilled and
cherished in our relationship and in life in general. Remind us not to buy
gifts that we think the other wants, but to really listen to our mate and to purchase
a gift or gift certificate for what they expressed a desire to purchase.
Help us not to jump to
conclusions, to make false assumptions or to react to our mate without getting
all of the facts. Remind us that You show us mercy and grace in our time of
need, and to treat each other this same way. After all, we all have a bad day,
week or month now and then.
Thought for the Day:
Each day, we make homecoming for
our spouse an anticipated event by greeting one another with love and joy in
our heart, and treating each other like a blessing rather than as a burden that
we are forced to bear.
