That Shark Wasn't Dead

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." 
Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)

A husband and wife are swimming together at a Bahamas resort when a shark appears out of nowhere. Suddenly, the lifeguard shouts, “Shark! Shark! Everybody get out of the water!” The woman's husband took off in a panic for shore and left her to get to the beach on her own. When she finally got back, she was livid. “What a terrible thing to do, deserting me like that. I was scared to death. Don't you remember when we were married you told me you would face death for me?” He said, “Yes, and I would, but that shark wasn't dead.”

Ephesians 5:25 requires something different: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Now, husbands in Ephesus loved their wives, but it was with eros, or sexual love, or philos, a friendly kind of love. The word Paul uses here is “agape”. It’s a decision, not a feeling.

Agape doesn't calculate danger first. It's the love God gives the unlovable and undeserving. It aims to make the other person whole no matter the cost. 

Watch how Paul describes love’s purpose verses 26 and 27: Christ loves the church "to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

The next time a hard conversation turns tense, and every instinct tells you to swim for shore, stay in the water. "I'm staying until we're both okay."

Real love doesn't wait for the danger to pass. It stays right where it's needed.

Prayer if you’re married: Lord, You didn't wait for the danger to pass before You loved me completely. Forgive me for the times I've protected myself instead of staying. Give me courage to stay in the hard conversation tonight. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Prayer if you’re unmarried: Lord, thank You for loving me when I was undeserving and unlovable. I praise You for Your love – the kind that makes me whole, no matter what it’s cost You. Teach me to love like that, with every person close to me. In Jesus’ precious Name, Amen.