My truck needs an oil change. The display on the dash occasionally comes up with a message to remind me. It’s been telling me that for the last couple of weeks. I’ve got to get it in to get it done, but it takes time and money—both of which are sometimes scarce. But if I want the truck to perform at its best, then I better get it done. I know this, and so do you. Vehicles require maintenance.
Kira told me Monday that since we have been so busy lately, and we also know how busy things are going to get this summer with the NHYG, she has been feeling like we need to make sure to keep a check on our relationship. Relationships require maintenance. No dashboard message in marriage reminds you of what you must do. But the scriptures remind both husbands and wives to keep a check on their relationship.
Look at the wisdom from father to son in Proverbs 5:18, “Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.” Remember when your relationship first began; remember when you first began to date; remember when you were newlyweds? At the beginning of a relationship, all you want to do is be together, touch and hold hands, and stay up for hours talking. Now, years later, there is nothing wrong with going back to the way it was in that regard. Sure, you have matured, and things are different now, but it can be special again if we put forth the effort in our relationships. Let it be like it was.
Look at the instruction and encouragement from Paul in Ephesians 5:28-29, “So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,”. People, for the most part, have a natural tendency to care for themselves. Next time you stub your toe or cut your finger, notice how you will stop and seek treatment for your injury. Husbands are to naturally care for their wives as they would care for themselves. It’s like when Jesus says, “You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Matthew 22:39; Lev 19:18). Your neighbor includes your spouse. If you want to show love in your marriage, then make sure you are nourishing and cherishing your spouse in a way that helps maintain a healthy marriage.
If we want our marriages to be at their best then we better take the time (the “you and me time”) to work on them. Marriages require maintenance but don’t wait for the warning sign on a dashboard because it will never be that obvious. Work on the maintenance of your marriage as often as possible.
For the Lord,
Alex Mills