Bible Texts: Jn.3:13-17, Rom.5:5, 1Cor.13:4-8, Eph.5:25, Col.3:19, Deut.6:7-8, Rom.5:8, Jn.15:5, Philp.2:13
During our Lunch Hour Bible Study (LHBS), which is the teaching arm of The Husbandman Mission International, I was privileged to teach on the topic, “Love Gives”. In the course of the teaching, the Person of the Holy Spirit began to teach us deep things that we need to know as husbandmen.
He said, “loves gives and never takes”. He made us to understand that if the husbandman can understand that love gives, then he will not be frustrated or despaired when his wife and children fall below his expectations. This is quite instructive to note. Your commitment to love your wife as Christ has loved the Church and to nurture your children in the way and admonition of the Lord is your ministry as the good and godly husbandman and requires all the love that you can give (Eph.5:25, Eph.6:4).
In Jn.3:16, the Scripture says,
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….(3:16).
God gave His best, Jesus Christ, to an un-deserving world without expecting anything in return. While we were yet in sin, Christ died for us (Rom.5:8). It is this love-attitude that kept God, seeking for ways to reconcile man back to Himself despite all the shortcomings of man. And because you are made in His image and likeness, you must love your wife and children deservedly and unconditionally, whether they fail or not, messed up or unrepentant.
But what kind of love should I give to my wife and children?
It is the God-kind of love. When you consider the characteristics of love in 1Cor.13:4-7, you will discover that they are all the attributes of God, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
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…..(1Cor.13:4-7).
So, whenever you give the God-kind-of-love to your wife and children, you are giving and imparting the nature of Christ in them. And this is the power that transforms them to good and godly vessels. As the good and godly husbandman, you must deliberately, tirelessly and willingly show your wife and children kindness, mercy, and goodwill. You must always put their interest first before yours-living a sacrificial life. You must practice those virtues of love spelt out in 1st Corinthians chapter 13 and verses 4 through to 7.
But you must seek the help of the Person of the Holy Spirit to implant God-kind of love in your heart. This is because without His help, you cannot love as Christ would (Jn.15:5). If the love of God is shed abroad in your heart, it impacts and influences the love you give to yourself, wife and children (Rom.5:5).
This is why God wants you to demonstrate and give His kind of love to your wife and children as a lifestyle because you are never wrong loving them as Christ would love them. It is the right thing to do as the ambassador of Christ.
SPIRITUAL EXERCISE
- Father, by Your Spirit, endue me with power to demonstrate Your kind of love to my wife and children.
- Father, by Your Spirit, shed abroad in my heart Your love and let it flow to my wife and children.
- Father, by Your Spirit, empower me to continue to give Your kind of love to my wife and children.
FAITH CONFESSION
I give God-kind of love to my wife and children at all times and in all situations because that is what makes me the good and triumphant husbandman in Jesus name. Amen.
(First published in and culled from IN TUNE WITH GOD of Wednesday May 3, 2017)
The devotional IN TUNE WITH GOD© is published by The Husbandman Mission International, Headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria.
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Jesus Christ is Lord over all.
Bro. Ebenezer O. Igure
Head of Mission
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