The Husband

Ephesians 5:22-33      

The Husband

There was once a Christian counselor who met with a man who was having difficulty in his marriage. With sensitivity to the man’s concerns, the counselor told him that the answer was to love his wife just as commanded in Ephesians 5:25.

The troubled husband replied that he just could not do that since he felt no affection toward his wife.

The counselor then said the solution was for the man to move next door to the house his wife was living in and love her as a neighbor.

This perplexed the husband until the counselor said that if he was having difficulty loving his wife, or the neighbor, then love her as your enemy.

What is revealing about this encounter is how our culture conceptualizes that love differs from the biblical view.           

The husband accepted the cultural conviction that love equals feeling affection and is something that happens to us outside of our control.

Scripture teaches that love is primarily an action, something we do more than something we feel.

God’s Word does not tell husbands to love their wives only when they feel like it.

They have a duty to love their wives sacrificially. This is how God loves us, for while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:8)

Scripture gives clarity to the husband on how to love his wife just as Christ loves the church. He must be willing to lay his life on the line for her.

 

He must cherish her so much that he helps her grow even more beautiful just as Christ works to present His bride to the Father without spot or blemish.

 

Loving her this much means that he will never forbid her to do anything that God commands or commands her to do anything that God forbids.

It also means that he will remember that she is a person and not to be cruel, sarcastic or look down over when decisions are made.

He will respect her opinion and work to compromise when necessary.

The two will not agree at times and in these cases, the wife is called to submit as she does not sin by doing so.

We must understand when the husband fulfills his role, the other will find it less difficult to fulfill hers.

The husband will more easily love the wife who respects him, and the wife will more easily submit to the husband who loves her as Christ does.

Let us together fulfill our roles so that our spouses will fulfill theirs.

 

Let us Pray:

Heavenly Father, As husband as a wife, help us to fulfill the role as we are called, understanding one another. In Jesus Name. Amen.