Being a Titus 2 Woman - Loving Our Husbands

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

Today is the first official day of the Being a Titus 2 Woman series. This series is based off of the book Feminine Appeal, which shares 7 virtues of a Godly wife and mother from Titus 2:3-5:

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Now we have to remember that the goal of demonstrating these virtues in our lives is so "that the word of God may not be reviled." Also, we need to remember that we are sinners and we are going to fail at living out these virtues day in and day out. We need the grace of God and the Holy Spirit working in us and through us everyday!

Today we are focusing on loving our husbands. Now, most would assume that this just comes naturally...right? We married him, we better love him! However, when I think of this command to love our husbands I think of the choice we have. We have the choice everyday, to love our husbands or not to. I truly believe that love is a choice.

If you have been married for at least 2 years (give or take), you know exactly what I mean. There is a time in a relationship where the "butterflies" go away. Your relationship isn't as "new and exciting" and you have a choice. You can choose to decide that you have somehow "fell" out of love with your husband and leave, or you can decide to actively do things to cultivate the love you have for your husband.

God designed for the second to happen, for wives to actively stay in love with their husbands, and that is what I believe this command in Titus 2 means. As Carolyn says (Pg. 32), "God never intended for wives to abandon their passion and delight for their husbands. In fact, He has in mind quite the opposite."

Now, cultivate can be defined as, "to seek to promote or foster." What a great way to look at our marriage! We are to be actively seeking to promote the love we have for our husbands. This can be done in very practical ways.

Now, what does this mean?

"Scripture's mandate to love our husbands involves far more than merely doing household chores. We are required to love them with nothing less than a passionate, tender, affectionate kind of love...There are no qualifications added to this command. It's an unconditional love..." (Pg. 34-35).

I get this wrong so much! I think that if my husband doesn't deserve my love, then I don't have to give it. How wrong I am!

"First John 4:19 says that we can love our husbands because God first loved us. As we submit to God's command, He will show us how to love, and He will make it possible" (pg. 35).

The only way that I can continually love my husband is with the power of God working in me. I cannot do this alone. I will fail, and I do fail. But, the more I humble myself before God and request Him to be present in my life, the more I can love my husband the way I am supposed to.

For further resource, I did a post for At the Well a week ago with some practical tips to cultivate the love in your marriage.

You can view all the posts in the series by visiting the Series Index.

For more information about the book, Feminine Appeal, visit Crossway, our series Partner.

You can enter in the giveaway by leaving a comment below.

(For giveaway rules see the Introduction)