“Make your marriage great one moment at a time, one gesture at a time, and one word at a time.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – June 29, 2021
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:7-9
In her book, Calling in ‘The One’, Kathryn Woodward Thomas writes:
“Our fascination with romantic love tends to focus on the finding of love and not the substance of what truly makes up a loving relationship. Rarely do our movies or our songs deal with the day-in, day-out minutia of what true love actually requires of us. But the experience of loving for the long-haul, of generously extending oneself day after day, while receiving the kind of constancy and kindness that weaves one’s broken heart back together again is about as high drama as we’ll ever hope to find in this lifetime. It always amazes me that we tend to skip that part in the movies. For truly it is the absolute best part of love and yet most of us have no idea what it even looks like.”
Indeed! The day-in, day-out of love is the best part of love. But I must be honest. In my marriage the day-in, day-out looks uneventful. Each day, my husband and I . . .
Make meals.
Do dishes and laundry.
Go grocery shopping.
Pick up the mail.
Pay bills.
Work.
But the day-in, day-out is still the best part of love because woven into the fabric of everyday life is the comfort of being fully known and accepted despite oneself. It’s the best part because it means your life doesn’t go unnoticed. Someone truly sees you and cares for you. They share your frustrations, celebrations, joys, dreams, and disappointments. They are there for it all. You hold hands, laugh together, cry together, bear one another’s burdens, share your grief and share words of hope and encouragement for one another when life is tough.
If you’re single, because the day-in, day-out of love is the best part of love, it should affect your expectations about how you believe love should come into your life and if you believe a relationship is worth pursuing. It doesn’t have to start out “all magic and unicorns.” You don’t have to feel as if you are “in love” for romantic love to be fulfilling after you say, “I do.” After all, intense romantic emotions do not last.
It should also affect the kind of person you are looking for. Do you have shared values, shared faith, and do you really like one another? Are you friends? Do you respect each other and is your relationship marked by kindness, compassion, care, sacrifice, service, and fun?
If you are married, knowing the best part of love is day-to-day, should keep you from falling into the trap of believing that true love is an intense, never-dissipating emotion which could lead you to be dissatisfied in your marriage. Instead, it should affect how you nurture and care for your relationship. Do you do your best to be there for one another and do you make your marriage great one moment at a time, one gesture at a time, and one word at a time?
Indeed, day-to-day love and being known and loved is the best part of love.
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).
Prayer
Lord, help me to remember that love is truly built and sustained over time. It’s not magical and it’s not fate that keeps love alive. It’s commitment. It’s sacrifice. It’s daily bearing one another’s burdens. It’s being a friend. It’s all the things you are to me. Thank you, Jesus, for your wonderful example of love.
Application
Create some love in your life today by doing a kind gesture of love.
Related Reading
1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Romans 5:8; Mark 12:28-32
Worship Resource
Hillsong Worship – Unending Love
Donate
If you are blessed by these daily devotionals please prayerfully consider a donation to support Wisdom Hunters Resources. We are trusting the Lord for His provision.
Download our app!
