Falling in love is easy, Staying in love is hard. It is not because there is no love between two persons. It is because it is so hard to give yourself up for others, even though for your loved one. There is always practical challenges in the relationship.
When we talk about giving yourself up, we are not talking about something BIG. It is about those things we encounter in our everyday life.
– Who will cook dinner tonight?
– Who will do the dishes after dinner?
– How would you treat your spouse and your in-laws?
– What is your attitude when conflict arises in your marriage?
– Are you facing the conflict with patience and kindness?
– Or are you dealing with it in you own way, without any respect to your spouse’ feelings?
We promise to love our spouse, but what is this promise about? It is about how much we would give ourselves up for our spouse in our everyday life.
When the Bible said, “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…,” He is using the Christ’s sacrificial love for the Church as the foundation of the marriage relationship.
We can give ourselves up for our spouse, because it was what Jesus did for the Church too. He loved us and gave up His glory, His power, and His earthly life to us on the cross. His sacrificial love for us motivates us to do the same to our spouse.
