‘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 5:25-33(NLT)
Contrary to the image of marriage often portrayed by the entertainment industry, your marriage is a blessing from God, one that He intends for you to use for His glory.
Yes, the personal benefits of marriage are countless—especially when you depend on God for guidance as you navigate the relationship and obey Him in every detail—but your marriage is about so much more than what you get out of it. It’s about Jesus and the Church, love and sacrifice. Big stuff!
That’s why it’s so important that even when you seem to be getting nothing out of the vows you made, you consciously submit to God’s will and ultimate purpose for your marriage, opening your heart and mind to Him, giving Him permission to mold and shape your thoughts and attitudes to match His will and nature, and doing whatever it takes not only to make your marriage work, but to see it whole, healthy, and thriving, a living illustration of the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church made possible by His sacrificial death and resurrection.
- Where your marriage is concerned, is your focus narrow and selfish or broad and altruistic?
- Do you care enough about God and His purposes to make your marriage work and thrive even in the face of challenge?
- How might acknowledging your marriage as the illustration of Jesus’ relationship with the Church that it is, strengthen your resolve to love your wife well?
Read Ephesians 5:25-33.
from Becoming The Husband She Needs