Tag: Longing

Covet Your Wife

This morning I continue my study on the word “wife”. I was led to Exodus and the Ten Commandments.

“17You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” – Exodus 20:17 (ESV)

Here we find the commandment to “not” covet those of your neighbor. I was all set to start writing of the “not to do” and even rewrote my comment in my bible referring to that which we are “to do”. It is right that we are not to coven that of our neighbor, yet I want to speak about what it would look like to covet instead that which is yours, namely your wife.

“Covet: 1: to wish for earnestly” – Merriam-Webster Online

How do we turn away from wishing for things that are of others, we wish for that which is ours. In the case of our wives, it is not a property thing, but that she is ours and we have become one flesh back to where we were when woman was formed out of the body of man. With our wives being one flesh with us, it make full sense that we should be wishing earnestly for her. Longing for her, her embrace, her love, her warmth, and all that she is and has to offer.

Think of sin and staying away from it. If we are focused on God and doing His will as He has for us, then sin is not at the forefront of our minds. We will still sin, but our sin is less likely to be conscious. Similarly when we long for our wives others are not at the forefront of our minds and therefore we may find admiration in the beauty of others, but are less likely to covet them as our wish is for our wives.

I love my wife and would do anything to keep her safe and comforted. That said, I am looking hard at my love for her to find that I do indeed covet her. When she is away from me, I long for her. When she is near me, I feel her warmth. When she hugs me it is a true embrace. I am not the most affectionate person, but my wife brings me joy that I find hard to be without. I covet my wife, Lori.

What is your relationship with your wife? Does your love end there with the relationship and the word love? What if your were to covet and wish earnestly for her to keep her at the forefront of your mind to make it easier to avoid covetousness of your neighbor’s wife?

Even at Home We are Homesick

I had this realization this morning as I studied that it is this homesickness that keeps me down. Not that I am down all the time, but when I am, it is the longing for it all to just resolve as if I was finally able to relax at home.

Isn’t it so that we spend so much of our energy and resources chasing something to satisfy us. Whether it is a new whatever, or an escape to wherever. The thing we should ask is when are we the most satisfied? When we are at home. Without a worry or a care. Even if only for a few minutes or hours or a couple of days, we are relaxed and comfortable.

I remember, and likely have written about it, going camping with a friend and his family for a few days. This guy, although a wonderful Christian man, was the workaholic, always on the go. Yes, he and the family would vacation or he would go hunting, but never for more than a weekend. On this occasion, he and the family were away for 3 nights and 4 days with us. On the final night, as we were sitting around the campfire the conversation steered to him and to all of our amazement, he was completely sacked out in the lawn chair. We let him sleep and the next morning he thanked us for the feeling of relaxation. He felt at home.

Isn’t this the feeling that we all long for. Not a worry in the world and the chance to relax and be at home. Aren’t we all looking for that chance to just sack out without a worry in the world. I am here to say that we have that available to us now and should be taking advantage of the experience at all times.

“14Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.”

— Zephaniah 3:14-15 (ESV)

We are longing for satisfaction. We seek it everywhere. Yet we forget that it is within our grasp at all times. It is okay to be homesick for that place where everything will be glorious. Our eternal home, the New Earth with Heaven at the center. No, are are not there, yet. But we can and should be looking forward to it as Zephaniah indicates. We should “Sing aloud”. We should celebrate that “The LORD has taken away the judgments”. We should hold on to the fact that those times of rest and relaxation and comfort are just on the horizon and that it is okay to be homesick for our eternal home.

What are you longing? Are you looking to satisfy your homesickness even though you are in your earthly home? What if you accepted that it is okay to be homesick for the life you know will be glorious in Heaven and the New Earth?