Faithful

Well today is the end of my winter break. Praise God that for the most part,  I was able to relax and rest and prepare myself for spring. I’m hoping it isn’t too stressful and busy and that I do really well because I kind of have to haha.

Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

 God really spoke to me tonight through a sermon about purity. The pastor was talking about how guys want a pure wife. Perhaps the most comforting thing on earth to a man is the ability to say without doubt, “my wife is faithful.” Men want wives that are trustworthy and stay far from any situation that might be considered sketchy. The part that really shook me was when he applied the principle to the church and individuals in a relationship with God. The same purity and faithfulness I would expect from my wife is what God wants from his bride. He wants a bride that only has eyes for him. God wants a bride that is totally in love and dedicated to him. I really had to examine myself and ask if I could say I was without spot or blemish. An important point he made was that it’s not just about staying right behind a boundary line. From my own experience I find it is so easy to say to God, “well I’m not acting on anything so what’s the big deal?” I know I’d be crushed if my wife said the same thing to me. Real pain can be inflicted just by sharing hurtful thoughts. I can imagine it hurts God even more than I could ever be hurt when he searches hearts and finds things that are sinful and dirty. All this kind of discouraged me and broke my heart. Thankfully when God gives bad news he also has good news. I was reminded that sin lost its power over my life when I accepted his forgiveness and his spirit moved inside my heart. I am no longer in bondage to anything but the loving Savior who paid the price for ALL my failures. I was adopted by an omnipotent father who hears my cries, knows my struggles, and gives me new grace and strength everyday. I want to be presented holy and blameless and without spot and blemish and by his grace I will be if I use the power he has given me to kill sin and bring every thought captive to obey Christ. It’s such a sweet deal, I really don’t understand it.