Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

This is not exactly what happened but is as close as I can get to use scripture to explain myself.

A few days ago I wrote “In The Spirit” and the thought came to me to explain why I ended that article with an implication that I cannot love others without being “In the Spirit”.

This morning I woke up and forgot that intention. I went with a message of being washed by the Word. I was in the present and had forgotten the past.

The older I get the more and more I find myself being forgetful. It is not a fault, it is the human condition.

Ecclesiastes 12:11-12 English Standard Version

¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. ¹² My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

I am no Solomon but I do get to read and learn wisdom even with my failing memory.

Once again I find myself failing to write that message about “In the Spirit” because the Lord has a better message.

Ephesians 5:25-27  English Standard Version

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

There are two messages here, separate and complete.

The first is ”love your wives”. This message is the last part of instructions of how husbands and wives are to treat one another that began in verses 22,23, and 24. The first part of verse 25 belongs to those verses.

The rest of the message is about how Christ loves the church, His church. Christ sanctifies, Christ cleanses and Christ presents His bride holy and without blemish.

We do err to think that the husband does those things for his wife.

The best that a man can do for his wife is to include her in bible studies where both will be washed together by the Word of Christ.