Marriage Prep Slide 6-8

*Slides 6 through 8*

But how do we live this love out in our lives and in our marriages? How can we experience this explosion of love in our life?

Again we turn to Christ. Christ is our example of the perfect love that we are called to as integrated human persons.

Christ, God made FLESH!

If we want to be happy we must love AS Christ loves.

 

Slide Six: Free

 

Christs love is Free:
Christ says, “No one takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord.” Christ allows himself to be taken and He stays on the cross. Even as people mock Him and say if you really were who you said you were you could come down off that cross. And He could. But he gives himself, body and soul, up for us freely.

So we are called to give ourselves freely. We want, we need, to be free with giving ourselves and free with accepting the other person.  Nothing should hold us back.

Christ laid down his life for us knowing just how much it would cost him. He felt the sting of the sins of man more than anyone and it was because he understood and accepted the pain that his gift was free.

Slide Seven: Christ’s love is Total

 

Christ made a total gift of himself, to the grave!

Christ gave all of himself to us so that we might live. “God so loved the world that He gave his only son.” And Christ did not reserve a piece of himself for himself. He gave his entire being to us. And that is what we are called to do for our spouse. Freedom naturally leads to making a total gift of self. If I freely gave myself to you why would I stop half way. Christ kept nothing for himself. He gave himself totally up for us on the cross, to death. Are you willing to die for your future spouse? Is there anything you are NOT willing to give?

 Vows: You can have this part of me but not that one. You can have all of me, expect on Tuesdays

Slide Eight: Faithful

 

Christ: “I’ll never leave you. I’ll never forsake you” Hebrews 13:5-6 Pentecost. Holy Spirit.

The old testament is full of examples of the people of God BREAKING the covenant they made with Him. But God did not forsake them, did not abandon them. Instead he sent his son to redeem them, us, and bring us into a truly faithful relationship with Him. And even more, when God’s chosen people, when we dismissed Him and crucified Him, he still did not leave us. Instead, He rose from the dead for us and he is always with us. He gave us His spirit, the Holy Spirit and He gave us Himself in the mass.

That is how we are to live out faithfulness with our spouse. Even when they seemingly abandon or hurt us. And because of sin and the lasting effects that has had in the human heart, we know our spouses will hurt us. But we are called like Christ to be ever faithful to our spouses.

* Stay Tuned for the concluding slides*