Ephesians 5:22-28
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 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. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
God’s Plan for Marriage
Ok, I’ll admit it. The first part of this verse makes me cringe a little bit. Wives, which I would be included in, submit to your own husbands…. Wait, let’s stop right there. Submit, it sounds like such an old fashion word. My first response is to let my pride jump up and say, I don’t even think so. This is a new time and a new generation right? Not to God. His plan for marriage is the same today as it was yesterday.
Let’s continue with the verse. It’s says, Submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. The definition of submit is to yield or surrender oneself to the will or authority of another. Just as I have a difficult time submitting myself to the Lord at times, I have an even more difficult time surrendering myself to my husband. God is at least perfect, my husband is far from.
But let’s not stop there, because this is where it gets good. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. Now that part I like. That’s a lot of love, and it just keeps going. It also says, Husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. God calls husbands to be caretakers, to take care of their wife just as they take care of themselves. It’s not just about providing her with grocery money or taking care of the house payment, it’s about loving her as you love yourself.
Loving your wife, means treating her the way you want to be treated. Husbands want to be respected and appreciated, so do wives. Husbands want to live with someone who is patient, kind, good, and unselfish, wives do to. Submitting to a husband who loves me as much as he loves himself, doesn’t sound so bad.
At first, it sounded like wives were getting the short end of the stick, but not really. God actually places the bulk of the responsibility on the husband. The husband is to be the head of the household. He is to be our spiritual, financial, and relationship leader.
Men and women are equal in the eyes of the Lord, but our responsibilities are different. Husbands are to love their wives, really love them, and wives are to submit to their husbands and respect them as the household leader. Wives are to trust that our husbands are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
What makes marriage difficult at times, is our selfishness. Our human nature that yells me first! However, if we were to do as God commands, who knows what kind of blessing we may find in our relationships. If we were to give unselfishly, love each other as the Lord calls us to, and commit to the responsibilities that the Lord has given to us as husbands and wives, we could have an incredible relationship.
God has a perfect plan for marriage, but He doesn’t give us a set of options. He is straightforward about what our roles are. His plan isn’t meant to make us miserable, in fact, it’s the only plan that’s guaranteed to make a marriage truly succeed.
Don’t be afraid to start doing your part just because your spouse may not be doing his or hers. Do what God calls you to do, and pray that He will change the heart of your spouse. Pray that God will help you and your spouse follow His plan for your marriage and truly bless the relationship you have!
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