‘For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.’ Ephesians 5:22-33(NLT)
‘In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.’ 1 Peter 3:1-6(NLT)
Devotional Content:
If a husband is the leader in a marriage, who is the follower? You may not like the answer, but it is pretty obvious—it is the wife. And before you start accusing me of crossing a line, give me a chance to explain. If this wife-as- follower idea was just something I dreamed up, you could probably argue me out of it. The problem is that I did not dream it up. It is part of God’s perfect plan for marriage.
How did our world get to the point where it is so hard for wives to follow their husbands? I believe that it is because husbands have not done a very good job of leading. God’s plan works something like this: As a husband, if I seek God’s wisdom in courageously leading my family, and if I listen to my wife and value her opinions and input, and if I lead as a servant, then I think it is pretty easy for my wife to follow.
Today’s Challenge:
A husband’s ability and willingness to lead determines his wife’s ability and willingness to follow. Husbands, seek God’s wisdom in courageously leading your family.
Going Deeper:
Husbands, what do you need to do to become a servant leader? Wives, what do you need to do to follow your husband?
from Redefining Love by Dr. Kim Kimberling