Highlight Real, Week Two: Marriage

Behind every highlight reel you see, there is a behind the scenes that you don't. Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Romans 12:9-10 (NLT) What is the "Behind the Scenes" of a successful marriage? A husband and wife who MUTUALLY RESPECT each other. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do 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. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her Ephesians 5:22-25 (NIV) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 (NIV) As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV)  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV) Mutual respect breeds mutual trust, which creates mutual intimacy. A husband and wife who engage in HEALTHY CONFLICT A marriage that doesn't shy away from conflict… grows closer THROUGH conflict.  "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold… Ephesians 4:25-32 (NIV)  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:25-32 (NIV)  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:25-32 (NIV)   Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:25-32 (NIV) Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV)  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. Hebrews 12:14-15 (NIV)  Where we don't make every effort… we will ALWAYS allow bitterness to take root. You don't have to love healthy conflict, but learn to love the RESULTS of it. A husband who LEADS and a wife who COUNSELS Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife. Proverbs 21:19 (NIV) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21-24 (NIV) Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do 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. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:21-24 (NIV) Leadership is never about RIGHTS; it's about RESPONSIBILITY. He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. Proverbs 18:22 (NIV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her… Ephesians 5:25-28 (NIV) In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:25-28 (NIV) Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7 (NIV) A husband and wife who fight for a RHYTHM of PURSUIT. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." Ephesians 5:31-33 (NIV)  This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-33 (NIV)  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:31-33 (NIV) Love and respect are not duties to be performed, but the privilege of pursuit.  Comfort is never the goal in marriage… an equal pursuit that resembles the passion of Jesus is. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses. How beautiful you are and how pleasing, my love, with your delights! Song of Songs 7:5-10 (NIV) Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit." May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine. Song of Songs 7:5-10 (NIV) May the wine go straight to my beloved, flowing gently over lips and teeth. I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me. Song of Songs 7:5-10 (NIV) A husband and wife who focus on PERSONAL CHANGE. The work you want God to do in your marriage will always begin with the work He wants to do in you.