The Language Of Love

The Language of Love

Ephesians 5:25-29

An 80 year-old woman was recently married to her 4th husband. A reporter questioned the occupation of her newly acquired husband. She replied that he owned a funeral home.

Curious about the other husbands, the reporter also asked about their occupations.

The woman paused for a while and stated that her first husband was a banker. The second one she was madly in love with and he was a circus master. The third one was a minister.

Puzzled by her answers, he replied, “None of these people have anything in common! Why did you marry these?”

She stated that she married "number one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go, go, go!"

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25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27 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.

28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

Ephesians 5:25-29 Amplified Bible

25 Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word [of God], 27 so that [in turn] He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy [set apart for God] and blameless. 28 Even so husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own body, but [instead] he nourishes and protects and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,

Introduction:

On July 29, 1981, one of the most highly publicized and glamorous weddings in history took place.

• Britain’s Prince Charles married Lady Diana

• An estimated audience of 750 million people worldwide.

• 4500 pots of fresh flowers lined the route to St. Paul’s cathedral.

• 2500 people crowded that grand church where more than 75 technicians with 21 cameras worked to enable the world to watch this wedding.

• For many people, this was a modern fairy tale. A royal prince weds a lovely lady in a grand cathedral surrounded by adoring subjects.

• They were the envy of millions. They were rich, young, handsome. It was a "marriage made in heaven."

• Sadly, we know that the fairy tale became a nightmare. The couple grew more and more distant.

• Affairs ensued. The storybook marriage made in heaven eventually collapsed into adultery and divorce.

It takes more than a prince, a princess, and a palace to make a happy marriage.

• As someone said, "marriages may be made in heaven but the maintenance must be done on earth."

• For marriages to survive, they require regular maintenance. They require effort.

We are just three days away from Valentine’s Day and millions of Americans will be celebrating on Wednesday. The origins of this day started with Saint Valentine who was either a priest in Rome or a bishop in Terni, central Italy. He risked the Emperor’s wrath by standing up for traditional marriage, secretly marrying soldiers to their young brides. When Emperor Claudius demanded that Christians deny their consciences and worship pagan idols, Saint Valentine refused. He was arrested, dragged before the Prefect of Rome, and condemned him to die.

While awaiting execution, his jailer, Asterius, asked Saint Valentine to pray for his blind daughter. When she miraculously regained her sight, the jailer converted and was baptized, along with many others. Right before his execution, Saint Valentine wrote a note to the jailer’s daughter, signing it, “from your Valentine.”

Saint Valentine was beaten with clubs and stones, and when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269AD. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius designated February 14th as “Saint Valentine’s Day.”

Sparks are flying this Valentine's Day as consumers get ready to show their loved ones how much they care. Overall, consumers plan to spend $25.8 billion on Valentine's Day this year — an average of $185.81 per person, according to the annual survey by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics. But no matter what we might spend if we don’t get the most important part right it will all be for naught. What is the most important part? Paul makes it clear that we are to “love our wives,” and in today’s message we will try to find out what that means.