Drink water from your own well – share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, “sleeping” with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth… May you always be captivated by her love.
There is a little colorful language in this one, and I think you can easily replace the word “wife” with the word “spouse”. Right here I think this is God’s plan for marriage. Marriage was designed at the very beginning to be an example of Jesus’ love for the church, which really means Jesus’ love for those who follow him. That is some serious love, and my marriage is supposed to be an example of that so when the world looks at the relationship between me and my wife they will say, “Wow. That is some serious love for each other they have.” My marriage should inspire questions and respect.
Not having affairs, emotional or otherwise is the bare minimum expectation God has for my marriage. That is the no-brainer, or “duh” part of marriage. Of course God wants you to be pure, I believe both emotionally and physically. Your spouse should be your best friend. Your spouse should get the bulk and the best of your deep emotional investment, your help, your support, your respect. When people see my marriage, they need to say more than, “Wow. She was a really saint for putting up with him all those years and not leaving him.”
God wants your my marriage, all marriages to be incredible. God wants me and my wife to be captivated with each other every day of what God hopes to be a very long marriage. God wants us to be madly in love, romantically, emotionally, spiritually. Not only is it a good witness for those within our wider sphere of influence, but it is good for our kids. Once of the best pieces of advice I ever took years ago is that your marriage relationship comes before your relationship with your kids. In terms of making priority calls, my spouse is first, and my kids come second. That may seem counter-intuitive to some people. but it is some of the wisest counsel I have every received.
I fall short of God’s expectation for my marriage every day. My wife and kids know that, and God knows it. But, my GOAL should be to have an incredible, captivating marriage where we are madly in love with each other and I always put my wife’s needs before mine. I think that is very important. If that is my goal, I have a chance of making it. I have a chance of getting it done sometimes. If I don’t start with my goal being the best, my best will never be attained, ever. Even if just occasionally.
One of my deepest desires for my kids is that if/when they get married, they have an absolutely incredible, loving marriage. They will have the best chance of success if they live well BEFORE they are married, and their approach to dating and relationship is one that has the end-goal of a marriage that is an example of Jesus’ love for those who follow him. If that is the end goal of any dating relationship they have, or even any crush they may have (which can eventually lead to marriage), they will be in the right frame of mind to make the right decisions.
