Redeeming love

Job 19:25-27, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed with the thought!" There has been one great command that Christ has given to all of us and that is to follow Him. In following Him we will obey Him, and in following Him we will love others and be a representative for Him. In our marriage study that we have been doing, Jimmy Evans "Our Secret Paradise," it was made very apparent our roles as husband and wives. In this role for us there is one great challenge, "who is the redeemer in the relationship?"

As with most all young married couples, Jason and I had to learn our roles in the relationship. The first few years of our marriage, were the hardest. Jason and I both had baggage that we brought into our marriage. Of course, my baggage was a little too heavy for me to carry. So God in His infinite wisdom, gave me Jason who started helping me with my load. Jason became the redeemer in our relationship. Eph 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Jason gave himself up for me. He would work hard during the day, then come home and work hard around the house in order to lighten my load. He put his emotions aside and became a stable rock that I could hit, yet he was grounded and too heavy for me to move. He became my redeemer and through Him I finally discovered the love of Christ. Do you see? Through my husband, I could finally feel, see, and touch Christ. One of my favorite verses in the bible is, Eph 5:22-23, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which He is the Savior." I love my role. My husband has made my part very easy. I respect him more than anyone I have ever known. He has earned my respect, my love, my devotion; Just as Christ.

Now it is my turn to show others the same love that my husband has shown me. I claim that I love Him. John 21:15-19, Jesus said, "Do you love Me more than these? ...Feed my lambs...Do you love Me?...Shepherd my sheep...Do you love Me?...Feed my sheep... And then he commanded, Follow me." If I claim to be a follower of the Most Holy LORD, then others should be able to find peace in my presence. In everything that we do, we are to be a mirror for Christ. We will not be perfect. My husband, in his human self, sins. I, in my fallen state, sin. Christ covers our sins, every day. The point is that He is asking us to go out and show others His love. He is asking all of us to take care of His sheep. What a privilege, and what an enormous responsibility. In this quest that He has assigned for each one of us, His love is more than enough to sustain us on the journey. I have never been happier, than in the moments of service toward my LORD. For in serving others, I am really serving Him; the One who has truly redeemed me. Oswald Chambers, "If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to Jesus Christ and He will make you of use unconsciously every minute you live."