In Colorado we cannot put our trash out the night before. Bears, raccoons and skunks will feast if we do, and decorate the street with our refuse. I rush to the window to check. Sure enough, my beloved has already put the trash to the curb. Once again.
We decided early in our marriage to show our love by trying to out-serve the other. But he is hard to beat. Already he has cooked my breakfast, brewed my coffee, put out the trash and headed to his home office to serve through his employment.
Today I’ll make the bed, if he hasn’t already done that too, and paint the master bathroom to create a space of beauty he will enjoy each day. This is how we think.
"Well, what if my spouse isn’t serving me? Then what?"
That is the beauty of “Christ in me”. He loves first.
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
Over time, we responded to His kindness towards us. Perhaps over time, your spouse will respond towards you. But even if they do not, you have loved your Creator well by showing love first to one He loves.
And that is worth the effort.