1Corinthians 13:1-13, “4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things 8 Love never fails”.
We have safes we keep valuable stuff we don’t want anyone or anything to interfere with; they are very precious to us. My wife and I have a fire resistant safe; in it we keep valuable things such as marriage certificate, passports, important documents and the like because we don’t want to lose them either by theft, misplacement and/or fire. Now a fire-resistant safe is a type of safe that is designed to protect its contents from high temperatures or actual fire. Fire resistant safes are usually rated by the amount of time they can withstand the extreme temperatures a fire produces, while not exceeding a set internal temperature.
And so are marriages, there are qualities that must be put in a safe because they are precious to you and unless your safe is built with fire resistant materials, it’s bound to suffer when fire comes. Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life”. Don’t we hear people say, “follow your heart”, however the heart is deceitful above all things, it wants things for itself, we are told “to keep it with all diligence”. Unguarded heart is a heart that may not survive the heat that come from the fire of life even in a marriage. A heart that is surrendered to God is a heart that has been placed in a safe, Matthew 6:21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. To “follow your heart” is setting yourself for disaster. You ought to “lead your heart” not follow it.
There’s a quote from the movie (Fireproof), Lt. Michael Simmons says, “Fireproof doesn’t mean the fire will never come, it means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it”. I believe many marriages are exposed, hearts left unattended, the things that should have been guarded have been left in the open and the enemy knows how to take what is left exposed and sets it on fire. His mission is simple in that “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy”, John 10:10. He parades to you that you are better than the current situation, that you deserve better, that you cannot waste your life. All he wants to do and he has done many times to other people is to let people think about themselves. Marriages have been viewed by many as, “what’s in it for me?” and that is the driving force for love. Look at what Paul says what love is NOT, “4 … love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity”. In other words, these are NOT the things you and your spouse should keep in your fire resistant safe, if you do, they will destroy from the inside. True love is not what it gets but what it gives, but you cannot give what you’ve not guarded in the safe. These are the qualities you and your spouse ought to safeguard, protect, nature at all cost because fire will come against them. Remember vs.”4 Love suffers long and is kind, love rejoices in the truth,(God’s word); 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails”.
Fires of financial challenges will come, parasites inform of people, health challenges, misunderstandings, disagreements, be sure you have what is valuable in your marriage safe to withstand the fire when it comes, Lead your heart to true love as defined by God and not by the world’s definition. Blessings Ev
He Has Magnified His Word 