The worst thing you could ever say

Christians are called to love each other.  That’s about as basic as saying “The sky is blue” or “The grass is green.”  Yet Christian couples sometimes say the reason they are separating or divorcing is because they no longer love each other.  This is a terrible indictment not only on their relationship, but also on their faith, as Gary Thomas makes clear in Sacred Marriage…

One of the cruelest and most condemning remarks I’ve ever heard is the one that men often use when they leave their wives for another woman: “The truth is, I’ve never loved you.”  This is meant to be an attack on the wife – saying in effect, “The truth is, I’ve never found you loveable.”  But put in a Christian context, it’s a confession of the man’s utter failure to be a Christian.  If he hasn’t loved his wife, it’s not his wife’s fault, but his.  Jesus calls us to love even the unlovable – even our enemies! – so a man who says “I’ve never loved you” is a man who is saying essentially this: “I’ve never acted like a Christian.” (p. 40-41)

Related:
:: More quotes from Sacred Marriage are here.
:: Sacred Marriage Seminar beginning tomorrow at Rough Acres Bible Camp.