The seventh “C” that you will have to sail in your marriage is charity. That is an old fashioned word which we often translate “love” these days. I’m not talking about giving to charity or about charitable organizations. Obviously those kinds of actions are a result of love, compassion and caring that comes from our hearts.
But in a marriage, charity is the equivalent of pure and simple LOVE. The Bible says that love bears all things and believes all things. Without love it is impossible to have an intimate relationship. It is the component that is the foundation and basis for trust that your partner truly has your best interest in mind and that kind of trust is fundamental for an intimate and fulfilling relationship.
It’s important to remember that charity (love) is a gift from God. Godly love is unconditional. It does not depend upon what the other partner does or doesn’t do. It is genuine. It goes “lightyears” beyond physical attraction. It is a spiritual commitment both to God and to your spouse.
If expressing “charity” toward your partner seems impossible, it is – that is, without God’s help. Only having His Holy Spirit inhabiting and transforming your inner being on a day by day basis will enable you to respond with charity when your partner is doling out something that is completely uncharitable.
Ephesians 5:28 through 31 says, “In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church for we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
My suggestion is that you read 1 Corinthians chapter 13 together every night for the first month of your marriage until you begin to grasp the true meaning of what the Bible calls charity.
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