Today is the first official day of the Being a Titus 2 Woman series. This series is based off of the book Feminine Appeal, which shares 7 virtues of a Godly wife and mother from Titus 2:3-5:
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Now we have to remember that the goal of demonstrating these virtues in our lives is so “that the word of God may not be reviled.” Also, we need to remember that we are sinners and we are going to fail at living out these virtues day in and day out. We need the grace of God and the Holy Spirit working in us and through us everyday!
Today we are focusing on loving our husbands. Now, most would assume that this just comes naturally…right? We married him, we better love him! However, when I think of this command to love our husbands I think of the choice we have. We have the choice everyday, to love our husbands or not to. I truly believe that love is a choice.
If you have been married for at least 2 years (give or take), you know exactly what I mean. There is a time in a relationship where the “butterflies” go away. Your relationship isn’t as “new and exciting” and you have a choice. You can choose to decide that you have somehow “fell” out of love with your husband and leave, or you can decide to actively do things to cultivate the love you have for your husband.
God designed for the second to happen, for wives to actively stay in love with their husbands, and that is what I believe this command in Titus 2 means. As Carolyn says (Pg. 32), “God never intended for wives to abandon their passion and delight for their husbands. In fact, He has in mind quite the opposite.”
Now, cultivate can be defined as, “to seek to promote or foster.” What a great way to look at our marriage! We are to be actively seeking to promote the love we have for our husbands. This can be done in very practical ways.
Now, what does this mean?
I get this wrong so much! I think that if my husband doesn’t deserve my love, then I don’t have to give it. How wrong I am!
The only way that I can continually love my husband is with the power of God working in me. I cannot do this alone. I will fail, and I do fail. But, the more I humble myself before God and request Him to be present in my life, the more I can love my husband the way I am supposed to.
For further resource, I did a post for At the Well a week ago with some practical tips to cultivate the love in your marriage.
I love that I can enter everyday! I put my email in my first comment. Do I need to add it everyday?
Very good insight, I'm going to look at your Titus 2 post now!
Sabrina
Sobyn@hotmail.com
It interesting to see how if these things aren't our strive the word of God is blasphemed,revieled, slandered. Our current culture teaches opposite of Titus 2. May God help us.
juliebrantner@gmail.com
I think this is something we need to be reminded of every day. It is so easy to get busy with "life". Thanks so much for doing this series.
~Jan
jazimri@gmail.com
Thanks for the post it is a good reminder. I find that we go through seasons sometimes it is very easy to love and sometimes it is harder, I find even when it is easy I do not always voice what I am feeling and I know when I tell my husband how proud I am of him or how he helped with this and I really appreciated it or even just saying I love you really is an encouragement to him. So it is always good to read a post like this that reminds me to look at myself and see how I have been treating my husband.
Thanks!
Wow, this is serious stuff. This isn't just for our husband's benefit, or our own, but to keep the word of God from being blasphemed. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thanks for the giveaway and your thoughts!
Fantastic post.
I am so excited about this giveaway!
artandjen at juno dot com
It sounds so easy to do, "loving your husband," but so easy to forget amidst the children, cooking, and cleaning. This is a tough but good reminder!
This is something I've been trying to remind myself of daily…. to LOVE my husband, and to remember not to let my little ones take priority over him!
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