THE PRINCIPLES OF A LOVING, GODLY RELATIONSHIP – MAN TO WOMAN (PART 3 – VALUE YOUR MATE)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.

You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice!

Song of Songs 2:14; 6:8-9; 8:13    

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How much to you value your mate? Do you meet the bar set by the word of God?

Use this as your standard before you answer:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:25-28

When we talk about the principles of a loving, Godly relationship, and specifically how a man should treat his woman within that relationship, it’s clear that he is to value his mate, not just superficially, but whole-heartedly, just as Christ valued (and still values) the church.

How much did Christ value the church?

The scriptures tell us. He loved the church so much that He was willing to die for her in order to make her holy and blameless and radiant. The best men in relationships are the ones who are willing to set themselves aside to beautify and bless their women with the kind of love that Christ gives, the unconditional, deep, self-sacrificing love that sets Him apart from any other man that ever walked the earth.

As we look at the words of Solomon today, we see the depth of the value he had for his love, Shulammite. He saw her as special and set apart, one of a kind, and a blessing from God. Look at his words again here:

Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number; but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The young women saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her. Song of Songs 6:8-9

There may be a lot of other women out there, even women of great royalty and prominence like queens, but none of them were for Solomon like Shulammite was. To him, she was perfect and unique, the favorite of her mother, the one who bore her, and now the favorite of Solomon, the man she loved.

How extraordinary was the love that Solomon and Shulammite shared?

So extraordinary and distinct that it was set apart from other relationships, so much so that even the queens praised Shulammite and the young women saw her as blessed.

This is what happens when we love each other within a relationship in accordance with the will, way, and word of God. That relationship becomes distinguished from relationships of the world because the relationship is centered on the Lord, a relationship that in turn is centered on the matter of value, valuing the Lord who oversees the relationship and, in turn, each partner valuing one another as a beautiful, priceless gift from the Lord from whom all blessings flow.

Men, are you valuing your mate this way? When people see the way you love your mate, do they see Christ at the center of that love? Does your mate feel the love of Christ in the way you treat them?

Only you can answer these questions but I can say with full confidence that if you need to do better, and I think we all can get better at this, Jesus is standing by to show us how to value our mate the right way, leading us to the same love that He gave the church, the self-sacrificial love that defined everything about Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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