WHAT THE SHEPHERD’S LOVE DOES (1)

Main Scriptures: Jn.3:13-17

More Scriptures: 1Cor.13:13, Eph.5:25, Eph.6:4

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you love your wife and children in the manner God wants you to? Did you know how much benefit you will enjoy if you love your sheep? Did you also know what would happen to your wife and children if you love them as Jesus Christ has commanded you to? These are the questions we shall, by the help of the Person of the Holy Spirit, be exploring in the next few days. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would empower you to become the practical reality of His love to your wife and children.l

Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself to her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word (Eph.5:25) NKJV.

When you love your wife as Christ has loved the Church, it comes with huge benefits to you and your wife. But if you must enjoy the blessings that this love brings, you must first understand what it demands. Let’s begin. Your love gives and never takes. This is quite instructive for you and I to note because if we do, we will never be tired of giving to our sheep and we will never be frustrated in every respect. Your commitment to love your wife as Christ has loved the Church and to nurture your children in the way of the Lord (Eph.5:25, Eph.6:4) requires a love that gives and gives sacrificially. In Jn.3:16, the Scripture has this to say. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…(Jn.3:16). God gave His best to an undeserving world without expecting anything in return. While we were yet in sin, Christ died for us. It is this attitude of giving that kept God seeking for ways to reconcile man back to Himself despite all the shortcomings of man. You must love your wife and children unreservedly and unconditionally. Whether they fail or not, mess up or are unrepentant, still give them love.

So, what kind of love should you give to your wife and children? It is the agape love. The one that flows from God through you to them. If you consider the characteristics of the agape love in 1Cor.13:4-7, you will discover that they are all the attributes and nature of God, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. When you give God’s love to your sheep, they experience transformation. Let me share with you two ways you can give this love to your wife and children. First, by deliberately, tirelessly and willingly doing what the love of God commands. They include showing them kindness, forgiveness, compassion, direction, provision, mercy, and goodwill. It also involves putting them and their interests first before yours-living a sacrificial life. In verse 4 of 1Corinthians chapter 13, few words explain this truth. Love suffereth long and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vauneth not itself’ is not puffed up; doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoice not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things….. You must demonstrate all these virtues to your wife and children as a lifestyle. You are never wrong loving your wife and children as God has commanded you to. It is the right thing to do and the right way to go.

SPIRITUAL EXERCISE

• Father, in the Name of Jesus, purge me from every filthiness of the flesh, bitterness and hatred toward my wife and children.
• Father, by Your Spirit, shade abroad in my heart Your love and let it flow to my wife and children.
• Father, in the Name of Jesus, give me the power to love my wife and children in the way You love them.

FAITH CONFESSION

I give my wife and children the agape love all the time and, in every situation, tirelessly and unashamedly because that is what makes me the good and godly husband in Jesus name. Amen.

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