On Saturday I’ll stand at an altar with a young couple as they commit their lives to God and to one another that they will love each other for a life time. After hours or premarital counseling and years of building their relationship this couple is aware more than most that their launch today into the marital adventure will have stormy seas as well as blue skies.
I’ve participated in many weddings through the years. Seldom have I seen a couple this young “get it” to the degree they have. Marriage is a lot of work.
One of the things I do with a couple is administer a temperament analysis that shows the couple visually with a graph where they are similar and where they are different. It is always an interesting exercise but also very sobering. Now we’re looking on a page where the price of love will be paid.
By that I mean, if a woman is very outgoing and social, and a man is very quiet and reserved, that means that the price of their love will be spent in meeting the other in loving ways where it is meaningful. The reserved guy will have to have some very social times if he is going to love his wife well.
Bottom line: love demands life change.
It has changed my life as I have grown to love my wife. There is a way that I like to love and I’m comfortable in giving and receiving love in that way. My wife likes love in ways that are different from me. If I’m going to connect with her where she is I must change. The reverse is also true if she is going to love me well.
The bottom, bottom line: loving Jesus Christ changes your life.
The “marital love” illustration truly paints the picture well of what relationship with Christ looks like. Becoming a Christ follower is not about becoming religious or even a good person. It is about developing a relationship with the Person called Jesus. It is about learning how to receive His love and to love Him well in return. That process changes your life.
The price of love? Life change. The rewards of love? Life change.
Relationship with Christ results in my becoming the person that God dreamed and destined me to become. Life doesn’t get any better than that.
I’ve participated in many weddings through the years. Seldom have I seen a couple this young “get it” to the degree they have. Marriage is a lot of work.
One of the things I do with a couple is administer a temperament analysis that shows the couple visually with a graph where they are similar and where they are different. It is always an interesting exercise but also very sobering. Now we’re looking on a page where the price of love will be paid.
By that I mean, if a woman is very outgoing and social, and a man is very quiet and reserved, that means that the price of their love will be spent in meeting the other in loving ways where it is meaningful. The reserved guy will have to have some very social times if he is going to love his wife well.
Bottom line: love demands life change.
It has changed my life as I have grown to love my wife. There is a way that I like to love and I’m comfortable in giving and receiving love in that way. My wife likes love in ways that are different from me. If I’m going to connect with her where she is I must change. The reverse is also true if she is going to love me well.
The bottom, bottom line: loving Jesus Christ changes your life.
The “marital love” illustration truly paints the picture well of what relationship with Christ looks like. Becoming a Christ follower is not about becoming religious or even a good person. It is about developing a relationship with the Person called Jesus. It is about learning how to receive His love and to love Him well in return. That process changes your life.
The price of love? Life change. The rewards of love? Life change.
Relationship with Christ results in my becoming the person that God dreamed and destined me to become. Life doesn’t get any better than that.
2 comments:
Very interesting, I would love to try that temperament analysis out.
This makes me think of "The Great Divorce." Would we recognize heaven if we saw it? Would we want to go there if we could? Would we recognize that the price of love and the rewards of love is the same? Wow. Very cool.
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