Gò0dNews for Men
Learning to Love by David Huff
I
n one verse in the New Testament, a married couple
This is the kind of love that Ephesians 5:33 is telling us
is given a command, and while it may seem simple to
to give. An unconditional love that goes well beyond any act
do there are many complications that come along with
we have ever seen or known. Over the years, little by little,
it. In Ephesians 5:33, husbands and wives are given this
God has stripped away the heart of stone that I once held
command: “To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as
and has turned it into a heart of flesh. How has He done
himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.”
this? Through unconditional love that He Himself gives to
Speaking on the male side, how can a husband love his
each of us. God loves us so much that He expects nothing in
wife if he has never experienced love himself? I grew up in
return for His love. He loves us so much that He is willing to
a separated family and I was basically abandoned by my
forgive us even though we deserve to pay the price for our
father. My mother, being a single mother, had to work a
sins. After all, He sent Jesus to die on the cross for each and
lot to raise her child, so I never saw much love come from
every one of us.
her either. Yes, I knew she loved me but there is a difference between knowing and feeling that you are loved. As a result, this continued on into my teen, young adult, and adult years, and I began to display the same acts as well. The only thing about love that I ever knew was that love hurt you, love abandoned you, and love was based upon what you were doing for someone. When I was married for the first time in 2001, I was so full of hate that I believed that love was nothing but something that we convinced ourselves of—that it did not truly exist. Needless to say, the marriage crumbled, and we had three children who got caught in the crossfire. After staying single for many years, I met my wife
This is the same love that God calls for each of us
and in 2012 we were married. It was at this point that we
husbands to give to our wives—unconditional love that
returned to the church and we both rededicated our lives to
expects nothing in return. Will we have to give our lives on a
Christ. This began a journey of discovering what love truly
cross? No, we probably will not have to, but we are called to
is. The Bible says that “God so loved the world that He gave
lay down our lives for our wives and to lead them the way
His only begotten Son.” Yes, I had heard this verse many
we are called to do so.
times growing up, but I never understood the true meaning love that someone would give their life for me, who knew nothing whatsoever about love.
12 // February 2022
About The Author
of the love that was on display. The unselfish, unconditional
My name is David Huff, and I am married to Brittany and together we have five wonderful kids. We attend Rock Bridge Community Church Calhoun where I serve on the prayer team, host team, and a small group co leader.
