It was January 9, 2008. I’d visited an amiable couple whose local Church had hosted one of Maximum Marriage Ministries’ Seminars in the previous year. When I was to leave, they presented me half a bag of high quality foreign rice and assigned their chauffeur to drive me home. I expressed my gratitude and left.

The rice gift was used by God to teach me some lessons about Marriage.

Yes, the generous couple had graciously blessed me. However, that gift wasn’t going to be eatable until I took further steps on my own.

I would have to buy all the necessary ingredients that would need to be added to it in the cooking process for it to become a sumptuous meal that I would eat with delight!
Should I choose not to get the ingredients, the gift would remain in the bag: useless to me and defeating the good and noble intentions of the couple who gave it to me.

Similarly, when you get married, you have only brought home one of the best gifts you could ever receive in life. However, you still have a lot to do to be able to enjoy your wonderful Gift on daily basis.

So then what are you to do?

You need to do two things you’d have to do to make raw rice eatable: SOFTEN AND SWEETEN IT. You soften rice by cooking it and you “sweeten” it by adding meat, fish, tomatoes and other vital ingredients

So, how do you cook and soften your Spouse? You apply the fire of fervent, genuine and sacrificial LOVE. That’s what Christ used to SOFTEN our hardened hearts and win us to Himself: unconditional, supreme and self giving love.

In practical terms, one of the ways to soften each other’s heart is by humbly and sincerely serving one another; meeting needs in each other’s life and forgiving each other’s wrongs and transgressions.

Just as our anchor verse tells us, generous giving precedes receiving. So if you want to enjoy your Mate, first be good, kind and enjoyable to them; soften their hearts by words and acts of kindness, compassion, thoughtfulness and goodness.

In short, make it your habit to Mate joyful and you’ll see them bring forth the harvest of friendliness, companionship and all the other qualities that you desire and yearn for.

❤️💕 TONIGHT’S ONE FLESH ASSIGNMENT IN THE BEDROOM
Re-read today’s devotional just before bedtime & discuss it.

✝️ JESUS CHRIST IS CALLING YOU. COME TO HIM AND BE SAVED FROM YOUR SINS!!!