Learning

It's a busy day so this post is going to be quick and to the point.
Yesterday's message was one I needed to hear.
We've been studying Colossians at church on Sundays. The past two weeks have been on Colossians 3:18-19, the familiar, "Wives, submit...Husbands, love..."
While spouses have been abusing these verses for centuries, we took a look at the context of the gospel when you consider what leads up to those verses. It revealed something I've never realized before. I won't get too deep into it, but you can hear the messages in their entirety here: http://redemptionhillva.blogspot.com/ The messages were from 3/15 and 3/22.
Ironically, I was out last Sunday, when the wives were addressed, and Greg was out yesterday, during the message for the husbands. Normally I may be a little upset about that, but not this time. Turns out I needed to hear the message for the husbands. I know...weird, right?
I needed a good slap in the face to show me what my husband's been working so hard at lately.
The husbands were given much encouragement and many challenges. The basic idea is that husbands are supposed to love their wives as Christ loves the church. What does that really look like? Sacrifice. Servanthood. Nourishment. Grace. It is not a love based on performance or what is deserved.
Over the past couple of months, Christ has shown me what His grace really looks like. How has He done it? Through my husband. More and more, I'm seeing examples of how my husband puts me first. It makes me want to put him first. How he forgives me and loves me, not what I do for him. It makes me want to do more. How he loves me unconditionally. It makes me want to drop my conditions.
And that's what God's love can do for us when we realize its magnitude. It makes us want to love Jesus in a more authentic, more passionate way. If we stop looking at ourselves and our own ideas of love, and focus on His love, it is clear how our opinions of love are skewed.
As Christ loves the church...not as I love. Thank goodness!