Love is...

I love my husband. He is so kind and so steadfast. He shows his love for me in such quiet and wonderful ways. Since he works from home, he sometimes runs the vacuum during the day if he sees the floor getting dirty. He cleans up the kitchen after I cook. He doesn't complain when life is too busy for the meals we love to sit down and eat together. He holds me accountable so that I finish all the little tasks before bed that would become big burdens if left til morning. He has sat with me in countless emergency rooms at all hours and kept me laughing so I wouldn't cry. And he gets up each morning and sends out the link to this blog to all my faithful followers after I write it, because he knows how much technology frustrates me. Yes, I love my husband.

Imagine how surprised I was the other day when he said, "I feel sometimes like I should be doing more, like I could be a better husband to you." After delving a little deeper, we figured out that, because none of these thoughtful things I've just mentioned feel like work to him, he felt as though he wasn't "doing enough" to show his love for me. Because it didn't feel like sacrifice to him, it somehow felt as if  it didn't count.

Here's the way I see it. The value of his acts of love is not measured by the inconvenience or work they require,  but rather the devotion that motivates him and the impact they have on my life. Walking into a thoroughly cleaned room without having to do the cleaning myself is a dream I've had since I started working as a housekeeper. He gives me that gift all the time, and it's something I could never give myself. Does it change my joy just because it didn't feel like work to him? No way! And does it matter to me that he doesn't mind being my communications guy with this blog every single morning? Would it mean more to me if he dreaded it? Of course not! It actually means more to me that he enjoys it so much.

I believe this is the kind of love God expects from all of us. The Word says that God desires "mercy, not sacrifice." (Hosea 6:8) The Word also says He "loves a cheerful giver." (2Corinthians 9:7) That doesn't just apply to money. It applies to everything we have that someone else might need. In John 13:34-35 (The Message), Jesus says " Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other."

 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 tells us what that means." If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body [to hardship] that I may boast,  but do not have love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

It's about meeting needs.  It's about committment. It's about mercy, not sacrifice. I'd say, according to the Word of God, that my husband is setting a beautiful example, and I pray for the strength and wisdom to return that kind of love to him.

Father, thank You for my husband. Thank You for the example he is in His relationship with You. Thank You that he loves me with Your heart. Bless him for all he does for me, and show him how much more pleased You are with his love and his mercy than You ever would be with his sacrifice.

In God's amazing love,

Amy

copyright 2010, Amy Wallace