Paul said no man ever hates his own body but cherishes it even as the Lord cherishes the church (Eph. 5:29 KJV). That is how God treats us. He cherishes the Church. He takes care of us. He is always looking out for our welfare. He is always seeking for us to have the best.

Jesus said, "I came that you might have life," and that would have been enough, but He added more, and as if that were not enough, he added a superlative - abundantly (John 10:10). Life more abundantly is what He came for us to have. He cherished us.

So, husbands, we should cherish our wives. You have no right to wait until she acts right in order for you to treat her right. Your responsibility is to treat her right, no matter what she is doing. That is what the Word tells you to do.

If she gets ugly, she must give account of that. You must give account if you do not treat her right. Your cherishing her should not be based on her doing all the things you want her to do. Nor should it be based on her agreeing with all of your idiosyncrasies.

Your cherishing her and nourishing her should be based on the fact that the Word tells you to.

That is what Jesus does. Think about it. What if He treated us the way we treat Him? Thank God, He does not treat us in kind. He cherishes us out of a heart of love and puts up with all our mess. Because of that, we should be able to put up with one another.

Source: The Spirit-Filled Father's Guide to Total Victory by Harrison House Authors
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers