Earlier this week I mentioned the three questions that Gary Chapman asked his wife that changed his marriage. They were at a pivotal place in their relationship, and faced disappointment, and discouragement, and both felt like perhaps they had made a bad choice when it came to marriage. The story is told in his book, Love as a Way of Life, on pages 222-227, and those pages make the cost of the book worth every penny. He tells of how his married life was much less than he had envisioned and he desperately asked God how to change the situation. As he finished his prayer one time, he had an image in his mind of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. In his heart God spoke to him and he heard, “That is the problem with your marriage. You don’t have the attitude of Christ toward your wife.” Jesus gave the example that to be the greatest, you have to be like a servant. He then asked God to teach him to love her by serving her, like Jesus did. What he discovered was that love always stimulates love. Because people so desperately need love, when they have the opportunity to receive it, they are drawn toward the one who offered it to them. Jesus totally demonstrated this principle. That is why he said that others in the world will know that we are Christians by our love. They will be drawn to Jesus in us! So here is your Love Project challenge. I challenge you to ask this question to those you care about.
How can I serve you better?
If you really want to love like Jesus, that is the place to start. What can I do to make your life easier? How can I demonstrate the love of God to you today? What can I help you with? Most of us would love someone to ask that to us, so why not start the ball rolling by going first! You be the first one to serve, the first to forgive, the first to give your place to someone else! Loving first will make everything better. You may think you won’t get what you need, but it will be just the opposite. What you sow you will reap. What you give will be given. Where you serve, you will be blessed.
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