Submitted by Andy McIlvain.
Back in the 1980’s there was a DeBeers Diamond commercial on TV that showed an elderly couple and a young couple walking hand in hand in a park. It has become a classic of sorts, as commercials go, and is often referred to as “Hands”. The voice over says, “There are two things that last longer than time; Love is one of them…” The music score was the beautiful In the Mood for Love (aka Yumeji’s Theme).
Diamonds symbolize love and prosperity, and they are the hardest natural substance known to man. The rarity of diamonds makes them expensive and difficult to find which adds to their mystique and symbolic meaning.
God originated the marriage concept of “One Flesh” in the Garden of Eden. Hand In hand, one man and one woman through all of life. All of Life!
“Rejoice in the wife of your youth,” Proverbs 5:18 tells us. Happiness in your wife lasts a lifetime.
So, the question is, men, is your wife your greatest delight and more precious than diamonds or any other material thing? Is she the most beautiful woman you have ever seen? Of all of the beautiful woman that life parades before you is she the most beautiful? Even as her external beauty fades (as does yours) do you still find her the fairest of them all? Does her soul shine above all else?
The apostle Paul tasks all husbands: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25).” Husbands are to love their wives with the same kind of love Christ has for members of his family, the church. When Christ indwells husbands, they are transformed into his own image, one stage of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18), imprinting his love on their hearts (Ephesians 3:17), and through the Spirit’s internal work, Christian husbands can draw on the vast reservoir of Christ’s love and pour out that love for their wives.
The routines of life and our own weakness help us to realize how ordinary we all are. Life’s inevitable sufferings and sorrows adds to the perceived dullness and mundane nature of life. Yet beyond the difficulties and adversities of this life, you still have her. She is worth far more than this whole fallen and sinful world or anything in it.
God is not central in the lives of most people in our culture, and sadly for many Christians as well. For many people, God is marginal and a many good things take his place. Knowing God and valuing him above all things, including your spouse and family, is the key to having a marriage and home to the glory of God. Loving our wives, honoring them in thought, word and deed is fundamental to our spiritual life. Soon your life will be over and the way you lived your life, how you loved your wife (and children) is of eternal significance.