Traits to have in marriage
- Adaptability
- Empathy
- Communication
- Ability to handle Conflict and Problems
- Know love language and speak that language.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Romans 11:16
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy : and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Be intentional about how you communicate love.
Marriage is not a place for assumption. Don’t assume that your spouse knows that you love them. Be intentional about communicating your love to your spouse.
1 Corinthians 14:19
Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.
Make sure that when you are communicating love that you are speaking the language that your spouse speaks.
5 Love Languages:
Words of Affirmation
Physical Touch
Quality Time
Acts of Service
Gifts
Know your spouses love languages. Don’t just speak to them in your own love language and expect them to speak the same language. You have to discover and speak their love language.
Types of love:
Philio – Brotherly love.
Storge – The love of a parent to a child.
Eros – Where we get the word “erotic”.
Agape – God’s love- unconditional love. Agape love is all about the recipient and takes no thought for the giver.
God gives commandments to address weakness. Many times in the book of Ephesians God tells the husband to love the wife.
God has called the man to be the pursuer. It’s the husband’s responsibility to pour into the wife everything that God gave to him.
It is the responsibility of the husband to be the giver, initiator, pursuer.
Ephesians 5:23-29,33
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
You can’t walk in the harvest of what you haven’t sown.
Love is a decision, not a feeling or emotion.
- Stability
Emotionally – Proverbs 18:14
Financially – Proverbs 24:27
- Similarities
Amos 3:3
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
2 Corinthians 6:14
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
Common interest…faith, convictions, family