One of the biggest reasons marriages get frustrated and fail is because we end up turning love into a business deal.

I give affection, you give appreciation. I serve you and you notice me. I sacrifice and then you make my

sacrifice worth it. But Jesus never loved us that way.

He didn't go to the cross because he knew we'd give him a good return on his investment.

He loved us while we were still sinners.

So here's the dangerous question for every husband.

If I'm called to love my wife the way Christ loves the church, what am I expecting back from her?

Because if my love requires a receipt and a reciprocation, it may not be covenant love.

It may be a transaction.

Our friends over at Alliance Defending Freedom are awesome. Can't wait to tell you more

about these superhero lawyers and defenders of freedom later in the episode. Today, I want to talk

with you about something simple enough for a child to understand, but it's hard enough that most of us

as men spend our entire lives trying to learn it. Love is not

transactional. It's not a contract deal where I do something for you and you do something for

me in return to make my sacrifice worth it. It's not a business exchange. It's not listed in Trump's

the art of the deal. Marriage is not like a business deal. Relationships are not built on,

I put this much in, so I deserve this much back. That might work at the bank. It might work

in a contract with a colleague, but it doesn't work

in relationships, especially Christian relationships, and it will slowly poison a marriage. Transactional

love says, I give if you give. I serve you if you notice.

I'll apologize if you apologize too.

I'll be kind and I'll do the thing that I don't need to do if you're kind first and you make sure you repay me. But covenant love says

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