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Men of Integrity, January/February 2005
One More False Assumption
Theme of the Week: Renovate Your Romance
Thursday, February 17
Key Bible Verse: Continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Bonus Reading: Galatians 5:13-15
#3: Rejection is the path to a restored relationship. This man assumed his wife could be changed through repeated confrontation, fault-finding, and avoidance. He didn't know that's what he believed. He thought he believed that husbands are to love their wives like Christ loved the church. But that theological concept had never become part of his operational belief system.
So I asked, "How does your heavenly Father go about changing you?"
He thought for a moment. "I'm not sure.
"Since you became a believer, has anything significant changed?"
"Sure, a lot."
"Did God ever nag you or shame you or reject you when you messed up?"
He knew where this was going. "No," he said.
"Do you know why God doesn't resort to that?"
He stared at the ceiling. "Because it doesn't work."
We went on to talk about how rejection never serves as a bridge back into a relationship, and how love is the environment most conducive to change. The longer we talked, the more we uncovered misinformation that had kept the truth he professed from sinking in at a functional level.
—Andy Stanley in Louder than Words
My Response: What form of rejection do I need to eliminate?
Thought to Apply: If you have unmet needs, try to meet the needs of your marriage partner. Love begets love; rejection begets rejection. —CECIL OSBORNE (counselor)
Adapted from Louder than Words (Multnomah, 2004) by permission.
Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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January/February 2005, Vol. 8, No. 1
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Prayer for the Week |
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Lord, give me a resolve to relate to my wife with Your kind of love.
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