First we need to point out here that God is Love and Love is God. So if you can see your spouse through the eyes of God, as God sees him/her, then you can see him/her through the eyes of love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jn 3:16. So just as Christ died to save you, He did same for your spouse.
If you are a Christian couple, know that your wife is first your sister in the Lord and your husband is first your brother in the Lord and make every effort to treat him/her as such. And this brotherly/sisterly relationship is an eternal relationship that will outlast marriage. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE.” 1 Jn 4:7-8
God commands us to do what He does….love one another. If you must maintain a vibrant love for a fellow brother or sister in the church, so must you do so to your spouse.He/she deserves your unconditional love. So loving your spouse is not optional…..it is a commandment….not only as a spouse but also as a brother and as a sister. In 1 Jn 4:21 the bible says “And this COMMANDMENT we have from Him: that he who loves God MUSTlove his brother also.
The danger of not loving your spouse as your brother or sister is that you are not seeing them through the eyes of God which is the eyes of love since God is love and you make yourself a liar. “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” 1 Jn 4:20
Loving your spouse through the eyes of God requires
1. Praying/Interceding for your spouse
2. Ministering to or serving your spouse
3. Giving to your spouse
4. Building up your spouse
5. Forgiving your spouse
6. Not being rude/arrogant to your spouse
7. Submitting to your spouse
8. Respecting your spouse
9. Accepting your spouse for who they are
10. Bearing with his/her imperfections
