Walking In Love

Last week we talked about making the choice to love your spouse and how it’s a choice you have to make each day. Today let’s talk about walking in love. Ephesians 5:1-2 says “Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father] and walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.”

In the bible, the word “walk” often describes a lifestyle that someone has. If you look at this verse that way it says that we are to live like a copycat of Christ by living a lifestyle of love. Think about it, does God ever stop loving you? Are you ever bad enough or sinful enough that He just gives up and says you’re unlovable? No of course not! Even before we asked him to, He loved us. Romans 5:8 says “But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.”

That same love that Christ showed towards you is the love you, as a copycat of Christ, are to show towards your spouse. Did you notice in that verse that it said “while we were still sinners”? We hadn’t even asked for His love and He gave it. That should be your love towards your spouse. That is the love that you are to walk out in your life every single day. Don’t wait until your spouse asks for it or does something to deserve it. The love of Christ is freely given regardless of the circumstances.

I know that there are times you get mad at your spouse and if you’re anything like me, when you’re mad at them there can be no loving feelings. They just seem to disappear sometimes. But if you think that because you’re mad at your spouse you can’t show love to them, you’re not walking in God’s love.

Now I’m not saying that you have to be all gushy over them in the middle of an argument, but what I am saying is that you need to continue to act out love towards them no matter what situation you’re in. Don’t tear them to shreds because you’re angry. Show them kindness any way possible. Continue to sacrifice yourself for them even when it hurts and doesn’t feel like you should have to.

You know, sometimes it takes faith to walk in love with your spouse. If you’ve had a difficult relationship and there have been a lot of hurts, showing love to them can take a supernatural faith. In those situations I think it’s impossible to walk in love unless you’re walking my faith. You see, the God of love is in you, therefore His love is already in you, you simply have to make a decision by faith to release that love towards your spouse. Now I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but faith never makes anything easy, it simply makes things possible! 2 Corinthians 5:7 says that we are to walk by faith and not by sight, and I believe that goes for your marriage as well.

As hard as it may seem at times, work on making an effort to walk in love towards your spouse. Be aware of every word you say and action you show towards them and take steps to walk out and show the God kind of love in everything you do, even if it takes faith to do so.