Love and Respect

DEVOTION

THE LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS

LOVE AND RESPECT

Eph 5:22-33

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 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.

NIV

It is time to deal with the family structure from the viewpoint of God. We have already mentioned this Cultural Revolution regarding the change in the role of women in our society. We believe it is rooted in World War II. During that time women had to leave their homes and go to work in the factories making war materials because many of the men were away in combat. When the war was over and the men returned, many women did not want to go back to being a housewife, subservient to their husbands. Today, it seems women’s right has been taken to another level. What is interesting is the statistics show more women die of heart attacks then men do. Is it possible this is due to women stepping outside the role they were designed for by God? Why does God want women to submit to their husbands, but let us not also forget he demands the husband love his wife? What we have to see in this design of God is he created man and then created women from the man for the reason of being a helpmate to the man. A man was not designed or created by God to be alone, but to live with and loving his wife. It is also true that over the centuries man became over dominate creating a patriarchal culture that saw women as nothing more than a property with no individual identity other than a daughter, wife or mother. We have messed up what God intended in so many levels that we may never get it right again. When God made woman from man, he did not take a bone from his head putting women in charge of man, nor did he take a bone from man’s foot, putting women as his servant, but he took a bone from Adam’s side intending Eve to walk side by side through life with man. This whole issue about wives submitting to their husbands is about the fact God holds the man accountable for his family. Look at what he requires of the husband. The man is commanded to give himself up for his family, for his wife. That is to put her first in his life, to do everything needed for her best. This whole illustration of husbands and wives is about Christ and the church, yet he comes back to the marriage as well. Love and respect are the keys to a successful relationship between a husband and wife. However, because God holds the man accountable he has given the husband the authority in the home. Whether men want the authority or exercise it, they are still being held accountable for their family by God. We have to love our wives as Christ loves his church. We have to do whatever it takes to provide, to shelter, and to lead our family in the ways of God. Does that mean become wealthy? Not at all, but the best provision a husband, a father can give his family is eternal life through Jesus. It is us men who need to make sure, first our wives know Jesus, as we are the priests of our home. Second, if we are fathers, we need to ensure as our children are being reared, they know Jesus. Once they attain adulthood they may stray away, but we are the ones responsible to give them the knowledge about Jesus in their youth, while they still live under our care. We could write a whole book on this topic, but we simply have to resign ourselves to the singular concept of a successful marriage, love and respect.