Keep Loving Him
I always feel a bit sheepish when I write about marriage. It is so personal and sensitive. Marriage is a beautiful gift that God has given to us people, the one creation God made in His very own image. Like all of God’s gifts, Satan has worked overtime to mar it.
However, the very first thing that Paul told Titus to tell older women to encourage younger women to do was:
. . . encourage the young women to love their husbands. . .
Titus 2:4
One day years ago while Ray was still a fulltime minister, I—as the wife in a one-car family—dropped Ray off at the church office. Ray’s dad was in the car with me that day. When Ray got out of the car, I said, “I love you.” Ray’s dad said to me, “Keep loving him.”
I have followed my father-in-law’s excellent advice when it was easy and when it was hard. Ray has loved me when it was easy and when it was hard, too. It’s one of the most important things you can do for your children.
When a young couple decides to get married, it would be hard for the woman to imagine ever needing anyone to tell her to love her husband. At that time, she can’t imagine ever not loving him, not realizing that loving him for the rest of her life will require a daily decision to keep loving him.
Coming to the Parson by John Rogers.
Rogers sold more than 8,000 copies.
A popular wedding present, it was his most successful piece.
Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum,
Gift of John Rogers and Son.
One way to keep loving your husband is to love him in your thoughts. Your husband knows that he falls short of being the man he wants to be. You’ve noticed that too. I encourage you to try this exercise today.
Today he is not going to hear from you that he falls short. In all likelihood, your husband also does things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise. Today think about those things. Choose three things you appreciate about your husband and tell him what they are.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence
and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Philippians 4:8