Characteristics of Love: Love promotes intimacy
Proverbs 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
Proverbs 17:9(NLT) Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9(GNS) If you want people to like you, forgive them when they wrong you. Remembering wrongs can break up a friendship.
Proverbs 17:9(AMP) He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.
Proverbs 17:9(NIV) He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
Introduction: We are conquerors and overcomers by the Blood of Jesus Christ as we see another week where Scriptures speak.
🙏 I pray that the Lord will strengthen us with all might, according to His glorious power unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness in Jesus name.
📎 The 17th characteristic of God’s kind of Love this week is: Love promotes intimacy
To promote means to help or encourage it to happen, increase or spread.
Intimacy between two people is a very close personal relationship between them.
Love promotes intimacy therefore means that; Love helps, encourages and increases a very close personal relationship between two people.
❓Is there a very close personal relationship between you and your spouse? Can your spouse have access to your phone, bank details and other personal matters unknown to others?
🛑 I have heard several times people arguing that their spouses cannot have access to their phones because it is personal. They also kept their bank details from their spouses and even make other relatives their next of Kin. God’s kind of Love can never be found in such relationship. It only exists in worldly or valentine’s love after the tradition of men.
I went to Ikeja areas to buy tyres, when I did transfer to the vendor, he noticed the account name is a joint one, and I told him I am forwarding transaction receipt to my wife. In bewilderment, he shouted that he cannot allow his wife to know his bank details. I told him that I know; because we are not bound by the same love cord to our spouses.
❗God’s Love cord is much different from the world love cord and it is useless and unprofitable to convince those on different pedestal of love on how the relationship with spouses should be.
The question lies on what binds us together as husband and wife.
Genesis 2:24-25(NLT) This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Couples joined together by God’s love are intimately united into one without shame while couples joined by the world system and after the tradition of men cannot operate for long in unity but eventually separates.
🛑 God’s kind of Love increases personal relationship between couples.
Marital relationship without intimacy ends in separation and that is why there are higher levels of divorce even among Christians. Devil therefore subtly make Christian divorcees to be adulterers and adulteresses so as to join him in iniquity, and deny them eternity with God.
Hear God’s express command to Christian couples
1 Corinthians 7:10-11(NLT) But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
❓Why then will you not seek and do what will promote intimacy with your spouse?
Satan uses tradition in a subtle manner to create gaps among Christian couples. I have discovered that he can operate through husband or wife and move either to uphold human tradition.
Anytime I choose to refer family members to my wife on any matter, she is always displeased, saying they will think she is the one ruling in our home, she just wants to operate in the background. This is following African tradition that renders women irrelevant in decision making. It is a subtle way of separating couples by the adversary.
❓Do you know that forgiveness among couples promotes intimacy?
Hear our text for this week.
Proverbs 17:9(AMP) He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.
🛑 You cannot keep repeating an offense of yesteryear and expects intimacy with your spouse. If you keep on repeating an offense that has been discussed and settled, you only cause separation. This attitude is common to women and this ought not to be so among Christian wives. This is part of human nature that must be put to death by Christians.
Romans 8:12-13(NLT) Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
If God’s kind of Love will be allowed in marital relationship for intimacy, forgiving one another without repeating past offence is key.
❓What practical steps are we to take as we walk in love this week?
Determine to guard your mate’s secrets (unless they are dangerous to them or to you) and to pray for them. Talk with your spouse, and resolve to demonstrate love in spite of these issues. Really listen to them when they share personal thoughts and struggles with you. Make them feel safe.
✍ Finally brethren, seek to be your spouse’s best friend and gist partner as one in the Lord. Offence shall surely come but let us forgive one another without dwelling on the past offence. Remember we also daily offend the Lord one way or the other but He forgives us.
Psalm 130:3(NLT) Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive?
Therefore, let love we professed to one another at the beginning of our relationship strives and prospers through forgiveness.
Proverbs 17:9(NLT) Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
✋ Maranatha
