Eph 5:25-33
28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church- 30 for we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
So isn’t this an interesting verse. A verse God has really been using to challenge me lately. I have been married for a little over 3 years now. And in these 3 years I have been learning so much about myself, my wife, and love. I think the concept about love form Corinthians might be a little easier to at least get then what this verse in Ephesians is doing. When Corinthians says love is Patient, kind etc. It makes since, love is this, but what about loving my wife like Christ loves the church? What did Christ do? He gave himself up for her. “Gave Himself up”. What a challenging phrase. You know I look at this verse and it continually challenges the husband to love the wife. And to love is to live toward her as Christ is toward me. Part of me says “dang” that is more then I want to do yet I can not move away from the challenge. The past few months I have been trying to live this and what I have learned is that I don’t really live it. It is very hard (at least for me) to continually love someone more then myself. That means doing what will bless her and doing what is not really what I want. Now the balance is to lead my home and my wife while also serving her and giving myself up for her. And once the leading part comes in this is even harder.
The challenge to myself has been every time I go to do something, go to say something, or even start thinking something I think how will this affect my wife. It might mean making sure I connect with her if I am not sure and making sure that my actions communicate love and that my heart REALLY is putting her above myself…
Good words to say but now that I am starting to live them I am finding how much more there is to do to be like Christ. I will love my wife and make her feel loved and I will make mistakes but at least for me it didn’t even start until I was real with myself about what God called me to has a husband and I chose to start living that way. I had to choose to start loving her and to give myself up for her.
