We are going through the Home Builders Couples Seriers with some friends and we came across a very interesting activity. Together we had to rate how well our marriage reflects God's image and models his attributes to others. There were four categories: We reflect God's... 1)perfect love for imperfect people 2)loving-kindness, by serving to meet needs 3)commitment by patient support and 4)peace by resolving conflicts. Those categories were then applied to three different persons: to each other, to our families (we took this to mean extended family, not the family we created together), and to others. The diagram looks like this:
What an activity! We found that we reflect God's love, kindness, commitment, and peace to our friends and families on a MUCH greater scale than to each other. In fact, our ratings for families and others were all 8-10 and to each other, they were 5 and below! Ouch! What a painful reality. To realize that you are better to other people than you are to your spouse can be a heart breaking experience. With this information, we vowed to be better to each other, to treat each other better than we treat other people in our lives.
So with that, I present you with this question: Who receives the best of you?
Who receives the most patience? The most kindness? Is it your co-workers? Your extended family? Whom do you serve and for whom do you sacrifice? Your fellow church members? Your closest friends?
For today's challenge, use the diagram above to rate yourself in the areas listed. Be honest with yourself. If you discover that you, like us, have better reflected God's love to other people than to your spouse, repent of this and vow to put your spouse first from this day forward.
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