Tuesday, March 24, 2015
"The Lord is my strength and my
shield; My heart trust in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart
exults, And with my song I shall thank Him" (Psalm 28:7). "Do
not be grieved for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah
8:10).
Hey Gang: I am a balanced therapy
addict! I have refrained from using the word "therapy" because
of the connotations that it surfaces in many minds. I would rather have
people look at their lives from the platform of experience. I am also an
advocate of looking at all of life situations from the standpoint of a
three-point triangle that include Values, Choices and Destinations.
And what do I mean by balanced? There
is no denying the fact that we are going to run into 'Back-Against-The-Wall
times and Alligators up to our armpits, and clinkers in our path on a fairly
regular basis. I have come to this conclusion: when we allow the
negatives to override the positives, we are going to get clobbered!
I believe, if all couples who were
contemplating marriage were compelled to read Gary Smalley's book The
Language of Love, it would provide a foundation on which to build a marriage relationship’ He introduces the
concept of a ‘Love Bank’, which we have shared with many couples.
What in the world is that? It is the same as your checking account with
your local bank only it pertains to human behaviors.
When we do something good for our mate,
child or co-worker, a deposit in yours and their love bank account. So, when
there is a disagreement, you make a withdrawal from that love bank
account. It is sad that so many couples, families and friends get into
deep problems because they think they must have all the bangle and beads the
world offers. When the withdrawals exceed the deposits, trouble is close
at hand!
The basics of the Love Bank or
the ‘tie that binds’ is found in Ecclesiastes 9:4-9; the Preacher
writes about a strand of three that binds the husband and the wife and the Holy
Spirit together. A strand of three is so much stronger than a stand of
two! When the two (or family) are not bound through a love bank principle, it
is a strand of one plus one and breaking a strand of one is a piece of cake,
especially when there is no Holy Spirit in the life of that one.
‘Love Bank’ principles are
found throughout the Bible. Jesus was a constant planter of deposits in
all those who loved Him and called Him Lord. His greatest contribution to
your Love Bank was His willingness to lay down His life that
you might be freed from the bondage of sin. He said, "Greater
love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for friends" (John
15:13).
I have heard it said a zillion
times that marriage or friendship is a 50 - 50 proposition. To that I
shout "balderdash". First, marriage is not a
proposition, it is a lay down your life commitment: second, it is not 50-50 it
is 100% - zip. If you are not willing to lay down you life for that
special person God united you with, go fishing instead of to the altar.
Jesus, "the way, the truth,
and the life" gave us clear instructions in the proper procedures
for our Love Bank, He said, "For I was
hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger
and you took me in, naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in
prison and you came to Me." (Matthew 25:35-36). When
questioned about doing these things, Jesus responded: "…to the
extent you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me" (Vs.
40). Even our spouse and family!
Soooo, Jesus removed any excuse we
might muster for not going into all the world, even our next door neighbor,
when He said: "I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields,
that they are white for harvest" (John 4:35) He also said, "The
harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few" (Matthew
9:37). What say ye? Are you a laborer for Jesus? Is it time
to do an accounting on your Love Bank?
BLessings,
Gramps
Gramps
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