Ephesians 4:32 KJV
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 5:1-21 KJV
1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

To flee evil, because Christ loves us. Do you feel your stuck where you are in life? That normal with aging. One can solve it by getting out more even if it is just a walk. We do get stuck in our relationship with people and God. It doesn't matter who we are, we get to a place where we need change to help our growth, but the way to reach up to God and for change to happen, is to continue in well doing, because of God's love for us. We say we love family, friends and God and not in that order necessarily, but how do we love? Today is Valentines Day 2022, it something perhaps one of those celebration Christians add to there list of events in their life because in truth it does not sound evil. Love sounds good. Yet the value of love is determined by what it endorses. Does it endorse the one night stand, or the yearly ritual of love seeking, without true love ever being found then you celebrating Valentines Day all wrong for the believer in Christ.

There nothing wrong with falling in love on Valentines Day, but it also not to be confused with passionate kiss, or hug from someone. The world loves the image of Cupid without really thinking does it really line up with faith and what love is really about. I not saying you can not enjoy the little cartoon character on cards, baskets, hidden behind trees shooting his little arrow. I talking about the idolator worship of gods and goddess of love, in the Roman temples or their sinful practices. The original Priest Valentine/St Valentine became the partron saint of love in the Roman Catholic church. We do not worship these patron saints. Yet if we can understand where the idea of something originates does not mean we do not agree with a day of celebrating love and romance, if understood not to be confused with other cultures or ideas of love. Question then occurs is the passionate hug or kiss sinful if it is not with a future spouse or spouse. Is young puppy love sinful? We live in a world that christdom could easily condemn almost 90% of it, yet should modern day Christian embrace romantic love. Here is a good rule of thumb, is it sexually immoral to love? Is it sexually immoral to fall in love? Is it sexually immoral because it can turn to lust? Is falling in love wrong? More would be easily say casual sex or sex before marriage to be wrong, but what about the kiss and hug? Some christian culture says say any kind of touching even the kiss is to be saved for marriage, and others draw the line at the kiss. Others will they throw it all out the window and say at least wait for marriage or the one you plan to marry. If read enough scripture on marriage, love and relationships in the Bible you might get more of a worldly view of marriage or at least a cultural view.

Where does God draw the line when the desire out weights the need for God. Where is romance wrong? If your are a child of God you will know when you out of line in your relationship with another. Sounds silly, you don't think God can tell this is not the one you will marry. You do not think he doesn't have a partner picked out for you? God made Adam and then He made Eve to the help mate of Adam. The question then is ask from the time of Adam and Eve was the perfect union of marriage mentioned beyond Christ his bride the church. Then I mentioned Queen Esther relationship to the king yesterday, what about Ruth and Boaz. Isaac and His wife maybe the closes to normal marriage agreement. Yet it even came with Abraham servant going and asking if Laban had any kin to marry for his son to have a wife. Jacob relationship all messed up by having to marry twice to get the right wife. Mary and Joseph seem more like the modern couple. Paul would encourage one wife to the church, and yet no doubt this was in question culturally.

What then do we do if what we want is in the direct opposite of obeying the culture of faith and tradition, or the culture of the Bible? What we do is pray for our future spouse, or spouse, and pray to God what to do concern culture and tradition of man in our relationship to our spouse. God is not a God of abuse, but a God of love. God is love. God has unconditional love for the believers. God expects us to love and show kindness to others including our spouse. If we are to walk in love should married a person that wants to walk in love too and that makes it easier to walk in one own relationship if you do. If we are going to walk in love does our spouse agree to walk in love of God. Does faith of our spouse matter, it should, God called us not to marry outside of faith, however he did not say culture. There are people born to live outside this land of freedom, that grew up in the land of freedom but they adopt another culture not their own for whatever reason. Yet they embrace culture and spouse of that culture never fully understanding what that meant until abuse occurs.

God talks about loving our mates, our children, and instructs us to walk in his love as believers. Culture sometimes defines marriage to parents choice, to the choice of someone other then self. If this happens what then, are you stuck in a marriage of tradition and not love hopefully not. Most people can get along with anyone, because we definitely put on our socks the same way, but in truth who we marry and when one marries should always be one's own choice? If we love God we should want the spouse God has prepared for us. How can we know this if we first do not learn to walk in the love of God, and forgiveness of God.

Every relationship we have can be effected on how much we can forgive another. As a child I thought I was pretty forgiving, as adult, I not one to seek revenge, but to forgive will it maybe given, but the memory is still intact. Makes one more cautious with who we deal with. Yet no relationship without forgiveness will not last. Can you forgive what your spouse no matter what? Can you love him as you would yourself at the end of the day? Where is the line drawn? If it culturally unexceptable to divorce, do you divorce or stay married? I not going to tell how to fall in love, when to fall in love or when romance is sin beyond, watching out for the lust of the flesh that leads you away from your relationship with God. Any sin that leads you from that relationship with God one needs to get rid of. Yet marriage and children is part of culture and so it means one is to create a beautiful family for it is of God. Your choice should never be made by emotion. yet often love commitments are made by emotion and not a well thought out decision. Some people it can take months and years to decide to marry and others it only takes a few hours or days/weeks.

I rather talk today about your relationship to Jesus, then to brow beat you over your personal relationships you have to decide to keep or sever. The most important relatioship is with Christ, and it is the only relationship that will keep you safe through eternity despite what the world deals you, what your spouse will do, your child will do, or your family. If you can wake up and say I love you Lord in the morning and when you go to bed, and still say the same about all your relatioships then you know whatever happened yesterday, today, and even tomorrow was forgiven. The words of love may hurt, but the action is far greater to demonstrate, and it sometimes takes an act of God and his love moving in our hearts to perform love in the hurt and the storms of life.

We got to say no in our life and some circumstances but no can be love and yes can be love. If you are in a relationship that not godly, can you change it, are you in a place you can remain in it, if you are not being harmed because of faith? Where do you draw the line, Where should you draw the line, decide before you marry, or gain a friend. Because world changes people in a blink of an eye and your own world can change around you without your permission. Those you loved yesterday might not be people that even care about you today, even though you thought they did. God's love remains for each of us that believe. And so with that in mind walk in the light of faith, do good to all, and follow your heart first in faith and into other relatioships, seeking God to know what best for you.

Dear Heavenly Father, you know our hearts you know where we are in our faith and our trust in you. Help us to love you first and to love those in our life despite what happens around us. If that relationship can not last, mend the heart of the one in the relationship that needs your healing touch both of faith and whatever else is wrong. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Ephesians 5:22-33 KJV
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.