What Makes A Man Attractive : Focus On Christ"s Love For You - Joseph Prince

Let’s look at Ephesians 5:25 again: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her”. Here’s a key on how to love your wife. Notice it says, “as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her”. The focus is on Christ — the way Christ loves us.

There are times when Wendy doesn’t see my point of view and we have a disagreement. After the disagreement, we hear a song—the Sound of Silence! So I give her the cold treatment and drive off somewhere. I tell myself, “It’s time for her to learn and grow up! Like a wild horse, she must be tamed!”

So I’m driving down the road with such thoughts. I try to forgive her and love her, but the more I try, the worse it becomes! What do I do then, when I don’t feel like loving my wife?

The secret is to turn to Jesus. My part is not to try to love my wife because I’ll just get angrier. I’ll just have more bad thoughts toward her, like how she should not have done that and how she should have known better. So I must stop and focus on Jesus’ love for me.

When I see how much He loves me, the Lord begins to show me how time and time again, I myself have done wrong when I should have known better, yet He still loves me. Not once has He said to me, “I resign from being your Savior!” He always says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

When you focus on Jesus and His grace toward you despite your mistakes, you begin to see your self-righteousness—acting like you are so high up there and holy, and she is so wrong. And you begin to despise what you see in yourself and say, “Lord, if You love me despite all my nonsense, how can I treat my wife like this?”

Guys, focus on Jesus, not your wife. Meditate on His love for you. We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) We forgive because He first forgave us.

Love your wife and say, “I am sorry,” even if you are not in the wrong. It’s your glory to overlook a transgression. (Proverbs 19:11) It takes a real man to do that.

And when your wife sees you humble, she feels loved. She won’t take advantage of you. She will end up loving you because your lovingkindness toward her makes you attractive.

 

 

-Secrets of Manly Leadership

 

What Makes A Man Attractive : Focus On Christ"s Love For You - Joseph Prince

What Makes A Man Attractive - Joseph Prince

Guys, do you want to know what makes you attractive? In the book of Proverbs, it says that what is desired in a man is kindness. (Proverbs 19:22) The Living Bible says, “Kindness makes a man attractive”. The word “kindness” here is hesed in the Hebrew, which means “lovingkindness”. This word is usually used to refer to the love of God.

So ladies, if you are looking for a potential husband, make sure that the person has hesed because the love of God will keep him attractive. Guys, one day, your six-pack abs will sag! One day, your high forehead will become even higher! When all your good looks are gone, hesed will remain, and your wife will still find you very attractive!

Lay Down Your Own Desires

Hesed is also displayed when you lay down your own desires for the sake of your loved ones.

There are times when my wife Wendy wants to do something but I want to do something else. And I’m ashamed to say that in a few of those times, I went ahead and did what I wanted to do. But at the end of it, I felt so selfish and frustrated.

So I have learnt to allow the self-sacrificial love of Jesus to fill my heart when such situations arise. I remind myself that Jesus laid down His life with open arms on the cross for me. And if Wendy wants to do something else, I tell the Lord, “Lord Jesus, since You love me like that, I am going to love her like that too.”

Love is shown when two wills cross, and you are willing to lay down yours and fulfill hers. When I sacrifice my desires for Wendy, there is an excitement that is so much deeper, more wholesome and fulfilling than going after my selfish desires! Because when I start “laying down my life” for her, the next thing I know, she says, “I feel like I am falling in love with you all over again.”

It is fun to “lay down your life” in love for your loved ones. It makes you more sensitive to the Spirit too. When you open your Bible, the words “jump out” at you. When you pray, your prayer is a flow. When you honor your wife and love her self-sacrificially, you will find that all of heaven opens.

That’s why 1 Peter 3:7 says that when a husband honors his wife, his prayers will not be hindered!

 

 

-Secrets of Manly Leadership

 

What Makes A Man Attractive - Joseph Prince