Husbands, Love your Wives
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her... Ephesians 5:25
Wow! I am to love my wife JUST as Christ also loved the church. He gave Himself for the church. I am to give myself for my wife.
Self sacrifice? But, what's in it for me? Isn't she to bow and bend to my vision and life direction? Don't women realize that men must chase vision, accomplishment, goals, financial and physical? Don't wives know that men plain and simply get short with women by nature? Don't wives know that they are simply to put up with our shortness or short-comings in general?
Husbands giving time to consider their wive's needs? Unnatural!
Ah! But Christ was totally focused on the church!
Consider:
Verse 26 goes on..."that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word". The word is the agency. We hear the Word, believe, and are saved. As saved people we are washed from our sins. The word also has an ongoing cleansing effect in our lives as well. This all comes about because of the sacrifice of Christ for His Church.
Oh, the Focus of Christ as He set His face for Jerusalem. That final trip, knowing full well what the prophets had written, what was indeed in store for Him there. The spitting, the punching, the whipping, the crown of thorns, the nails.
He came, and He gave Himself.
"that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish". verse 27.
Husbands, do we really love our wives so as to do our part to present her to Christ glorious, spotless, without wrinkle or blemish? When we see something unChristlike in their lives, do we pray earnestly. Do we regularly teach them the word for them to be cleansed thereby?
These are matters I wish to consider in the days ahead.
Mark Pierson
posted by mark pierson at 9:00 PM
11 Comments:
Mark, how funny you should post about this. As you know, Roger and I are doing the counseling/mentoring for engaged couples.
On our little trip to Houston, we were listening to the required CD's for this week, and we listened to the man's role. Very good stuff.
An interesting thought. More than likely, a man will not be called upon to 'actually' lay down his life, die for his wife. But it is the every day, year by year ways that he will love his wife as Christ loved the church.
You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, 1 Peter 3:7
Mark, IF you're interested, I can send you copies of the CD's of the teachings we're listening to. I think there are 14.
April 16, 2007 10:12 AM
Gayla- The CD's would be appreciated!
Thanks for the visit.
Is this your first time at bluecollar? :)
April 16, 2007 10:51 AM
Oh very funny, Mark. :)
I will get Roger to burn the CD's and send them along as soon as I can...
April 16, 2007 11:00 AM
I preached through this passage a couple of weeks ago and was just working on getting it ready to go up at Shiloh Guy. Maybe I should just skip this part? I suppose your next post is going to be on the Lord's Prayer? (Just kidding!;-)) I never asked before, are we allowed to tease each other on this team?
This passage and the preceding passage about wives are worthy of very careful study and application. They have been so seriously misunderstood and misapplied over hundreds of years!
I'm working on having a attitude of laying down my life for my wife day by day and situation by situation.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Dave
April 16, 2007 11:05 AM
Dave, didn't you get the memo? Absolutely no teasing allowed on this blog.
I think you should put up your post at Shiloh Guy. I'd love to read it.
April 16, 2007 11:22 AM
This is absolutely one of the basics. If we let this one fall, it takes a whole lot of other "dominos" with it. I'm looking forward to the rest of this good word.
April 16, 2007 4:22 PM
Gotta be honest. I think the husbands get the fuzzy end of the lollipop stick on this one.
Wives just have to submit and respect. But then, husbands are also enjoined to submit to one another, so even the wife's submission is not a requirement that falls heavily or exclusively on her.
We have to lay down our lives: they have to scrape up a modicum of respect...Can we switch?
(I'm kidding here...mostly.)
April 17, 2007 9:56 AM
God has given us roles to live by and we are to live by them. I think that is why so many christian marriages have failed now a days because we are not first commited to one another and also we do not except the God given roles we have.We both have such a responsiblity to one another. Did we not promise to stay together for better for worse, for richer for poorer in sickness and health...
Cristina
April 17, 2007 11:10 AM
Mark,
This is really a good subject to look at from a Biblical perspective. If we would always look to Scripture for guidance, it would make marriages a lot stronger. Thanks for this post.
wayne
April 17, 2007 12:12 PM
Great post, Mark!
I do believe that many men forget that these verses exist and only "remember" the "wives submit yourselves to your husbands."
On the other hand, women today are just as guilty of rebelling against their husbands.
I look forward to the rest of this series.
Dr. Dawn ;-)
April 25, 2007 3:42 AM
Dawn!!! You made it over!!! Yes!
April 25, 2007 7:17 AM
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