The "Perfect" Imperfect Man

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I know this doesn't sound like a verse about marriage, but for me, it was a verse that was very influential as I was dating the man I married. The first time I ever really dated was my junior year of college. The relationship did not end well. I went on to date two more individuals. Neither of those relationships ended well either. There was a common theme in a couple of these relationships. It was my pride. For some reason, I thought I had to marry a perfect man. If you are dating and you think this way, you are in big trouble. No one is perfect whether a man or a woman. But I think because of the Hollywood view girls get of dating and marriage, they have a romanticized view of it all. I had this view of dating and marriage as well. I also had a wrong view of God and myself. So that every time I started noticing or found out the faults of a man, I would break up with them.

Finally, God brought me the "perfect" imperfect man who helped me to see the truth. As we dated I began to see his faults, but something else happened. The Lord put me through a difficult time that showed me my imperfections as well. And through my faults, the man who would become my husband showed me love and patience. Then the Lord brought to my heart Romans 5:8. Though I had not yet been born when Christ died for me, He had me in mind when He died. Before I accepted Him I was a lost sinner. And with my sin in His mind and on His back, He died for me. My future husband, was showing that same love to me while I was a sinner and showing my imperfections. This made me realize that I needed to show my husband that same love when he was showing his imperfections. If Christ can die for imperfect me, then I can love and care for a husband who is imperfect. The funny thing is that though we were both imperfect in our own lives, we were and are perfect for each other. I'm so glad the Lord taught me this. It makes a big difference in marriage. I know none of us will ever sacrifice as much as Christ did loving us through our sin. May each of us love our husbands as Christ loved us.