Oh, how I love this continued list of how to practically “grow up” in Christ. I need to be reminded of all of this. We are to “keep on loving” others. That, itself, can sometimes be difficult. Ever want to just quit on someone who seems excessively intractable and annoying? Well. We might need to create some space at times for emotional safety, but in the end, we are still called to love the impossibly difficult. God so loved … everyone. Even them.
I love how I am challenged to pray for the mistreated and prisoners viscerally. I’m to feel it. When I pray, I need to enter into their pain, pleading for them. God doesn’t want me cold and hard-hearted, praying out of just duty. He wants me engaged and hurting with those who hurt. Like Jesus wept when He saw Mary and Martha’s grief.
And there’s more. I’m to honor my wonderful Ray in marriage. I’m to be satisfied with the money I have and not lust for more. I’m to care for my pastors and leaders, honoring them with my finances and my encouragement. And I am to guard against being “taken in” by “new and exciting” ideas that are contrary to the permanent and perfect Word of God. Last but not least, I must remember that my strength does not come from rules and laws. It comes from God’s grace. When I fully realize how much I need Him because of my own weaknesses … then He can give me His strength and I can walk in happy obedience because I know how costly His love for me truly is.
My verse: Hebrews 13:4, “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.”
My response: Father, thank You for the sacredness of marriage. Show me how to keep Ray’s and my marriage strong, and how to encourage others to value the beauty of a lifelong faithfulness to a spouse.
