Loving her compassion for others

Matthew 8:5-13

5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."

7Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."

8The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

13Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Is it possible to look at an example of what Christ did and use it as an example of how a husband should love his wife? Well, it is attempted here using an unclear example...

As I read the above passage of the centurion and his faith in Christ, the typical conclusion is clear; this man has great faith in the Lord and the Lord responds through healing his servant.

For a moment, look at it a different way: I see Christ’s love for his people. The Lord loves this man, He understands the Centurion's love for his servant and identifies with watching someone hurt. Didn't God watch Jesus hurt? So how does this apply to me loving Patty?

I as a husband can show love to my wife by listening and supporting her as she grieves for another’s pain and/or suffering. I can think of many times over the past years when I have missed this opportunity. You see as a mom of a micropreemie with many challenges, Patty is drawn to the stories of other preemies and special needs kids. When she tells me about a specific child, it usually just bounces off (probably because it hurts to hear it). So, as Christ listened and helped this man, I can love my wife by listening and engaging with her as she hurts for other people.