REPOSTToday’s Spiritual Food for Thought, originally posted on December 23, 2018, is provided by Joshua Chzen. Joshua recently moved to Houston be part of a new church plant.
Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend
“Imperfect Love”
Ephesians 5:28-30
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body.
After living with my wife for a few months, she pointed out a bad habit of mine that I hadn’t really paid attention to before. (In truth, there were quite a few things that needed to be pointed out ☺.) I love eating junk food, and I love eating it late at night. When we moved to our new apartment, there were two Jack-in-the-Box restaurants within a mile of us. Personally, I didn’t think much of it—
after a long day of work, I viewed it as a fair way to treat myself to something satisfying. It was my way of “loving myself”, even if a little bit indulgent. Of course, this sort of habit would be detrimental to my health both in the short and long term, which is why my wife took issue with it in the first place.
In reality, my imperfect way of loving myself affects not only myself, but my wife as well. Paul directs husbands to love their wives as their own bodies, and he’s talking about complete selflessness in love and attitude. But even as I look at how my heart is shaped through something like indulging myself, I can see that same heart reflected in how I love and care for my wife. On the other end, if my desire is to grow in and prioritize holiness, then I will love and care for my wife in a way that reflects that for her. The way I “feed and care for my body” will be the same as how I “feed and care for” my wife.
This makes it all the more important to pursue a life of love in Christ. We understand how Jesus “feeds and cares for” his body, the church. He sacrifices himself for it; he builds it up and equips it; he casts out its fears and covers its weaknesses; and he brings it to holiness, righteousness, and purity. As members of his body, we can personally experience this perfect love. And we understand that, as Jesus calls us to love others as we love ourselves, he’s not referring to an imperfect love that’s been shaped and affected by worldly understanding or fleshly desire; on the contrary, he’s calling on all of us to reflect that same perfect love that we experience as Christ himself loves his body.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for loving me and caring for me as part of Your body. Show me how to love like You do—and if it seems unnatural, difficult, or in conflict with where I am, I pray that You would reorient my heart back to You. In Jesus name, Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Acts 8