Support your Partner in Love and Life

Support your Partner in Love and Life

If You Love Someone You Will Be Loyal To Him
no Matter What The Cost. You Will Always
believe In Him, Always Expect The Best Of Him,
and Always Stand Your Ground In Defending Him.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (tlb)

Has anyone told you that one of your roles as a spouse will be a cheerleader for your partner? That’s right, a cheerleader.

Do you know what a cheerleader is? Perhaps in your school days you or your partner were a cheerleader for your school.

Now your team will be made up of one person—your partner; and that person needs you to cheer him or her on in life! We all need someone to believe in us and cheer for us, especially when things are not going well.

During the 1992 Winter Olympics, a former Olympic skater named Scott Hamilton served as one of the commentators for the ice-skating events.

At one point, Hamilton shared about his special relationship with his mother who had died just prior to his winning an Olympic gold medal.

“The first time I skated in the U.S. Nationals, I fell five times. My mother gave me a big hug and said, ‘It’s only your first national.

It’s no big deal.’ My mother always let me be me. Three years later I won my first National. She never said, ‘You can do better,’ or ‘Shape up.’ She just encouraged me.” This mother knew how to edify her son.

Edifying is often used in the New Testament to refer to building up another person.

Three examples of edifying are expressed in the following verses: (1) giving personal encouragement, (2) providing inner strength and (3) establishing peace and harmony between people.

So let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another (Rom. 14:19, Amp.).

Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually] (Rom. 15:2, Amp.).

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing (1 Thess. 5:11).

First Corinthians 8:1 sums up the matter of edifying: “Love builds up.”

Anne Morrow Lindbergh experienced a deep personal tragedy. Her husband, famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, was always in the limelight.

As a result of the kidnapping and death of their son, Mrs. Lindbergh also became a public figure.

The following are her thoughts about being loved and believed in:
To be deeply in love, of course, is a great liberating force and the most common experience that frees. . . . Ideally, both members of a couple in love free each other to new and different worlds.

I was no exception to the general rule. The sheer fact of finding myself loved was unbelievable and changed my world, my feelings about life and myself. I was given confidence, strength, and almost a new character.

Have you learned to release your partner to discover his or her hidden potential that has yet to emerge? Your partner belongs to the Lord, and He wants the best for both of you.

Perhaps your partner needs a little more cheering on from you. Perhaps he or she needs a phone call or a personal note from you: Go for it; you can do it.

I’m here for you; I believe in you. Give it a try; I’m praying for you. These are the kinds of words that cheer a person on. Make cheerleading a consistent pattern in your relationship now and in marriage.

It may help to ask, “How can I be a better cheerleader for you?”