Ephesians 5 instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. This is a picture of a very sacrificial love encouraging our husbands to lay down their own selfish desires in order to love their wives in a way that mirrors Jesus. Verse 24 is very clear when speaking of the wife’s role in marriage, “ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Our marriages are supposed to reflect the love relationship between Jesus Christ and the Church. I think I speak for all of us when I say, this is no easy task! As wives, we are faced with choices throughout the day where we can choose to love our husbands in a way that would resemble the Church’s love for Christ. My day started out with a choice for me to do just that!
This week, our newborn has not slept well which means I have not slept well. Around 8 o’clock this morning, my other children began to wake up and I had gotten a grand total of 30 minutes of sleep. My eyelids were so heavy they hurt and my head was pounding. I laid in bed, acting as if I was asleep, with the hopes that my husband would wake up and tend to the children. He did not. As I continued to wait for him I began thinking about the Ephesians passage. I reasoned that a great way for Jason to demonstrate sacrificial love would be for him to get up so that I could keep sleeping. It made sense. Even though I knew Jason was tired too – he was the one called to love me like Jesus.
My mind then thought about the wife’s role in the Ephesians 5 equation. I am called to love Jason like the Church loves Jesus. Certainly, the church is full of imperfect people, but I likened it to my adoration of Jesus Christ. I am so incredibly thankful for the sacrifice Jesus made to save my soul. Jesus deserves more of my time than just an hour on Sunday morning – He deserves my whole life. While I fall short so often, I desire to serve Him in everything. If I am going to love Jason with a similar love… I knew I needed to get up with the children and allow him to sleep in. I managed to pull myself out of bed and start the day. It was physically hard, but it was the right choice.
It was interesting what took place inside my heart during this process. Normally, I would be tempted to become bitter towards my husband; this time I felt my love for my husband grow deeper because my outlook was different. I viewed it as a privilege to let him sleep in. I continued to think about Jesus and how grateful I am to Him, and used that to motivate me to love my husband in a similar manner. As I write this, I am still very tired, but my spirit is refreshed. I am thankful that the Lord gave me such a great vision this morning to draw strength from. My prayer is now that I will be faithful in using said vision to better love my husband each day. I will say it again, as wives we are faced with choices throughout the day where we can choose to love our husbands in a way that would resemble the Church’s love for Christ. Are we doing that? Imagine what impact our marriages would make on this fallen world would if we made the choice to love and serve our husbands as we are commanded to in Ephesians 5. Personally, I know that I don’t always make the right decision, but what this morning taught me is that when I do my marriage, my witness, and my faith are strengthened.
How do you love your husband in a way that reflects the Church’s love for Christ?
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