Husbands, love your wives, .......

With the family and marriage under attack today unlike any time before I am often brought to thinking about the best way to hold a marriage and also a family together.
With all the worldly talk about equality it is often brought up to Christians that the concept of women being submissive to their husbands as stated in Ephesians 5:22:
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” is frowned upon by the world mainly because they have no sense of biblical concepts, and also because of the misuse of these verses by, supposedly, bible believing Christians. This verse has been wildly abused and misunderstood. It has been used as an excuse for men to batter their wives, abuse them mentally, and to otherwise treat their wives like second class citizens. That is not what this verse is supposed to mean. Here is the other part of the passage that is used to support verse 22 and some of the ungodly behavior that results from poor understanding of these verses . 24 “ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything”.

Here is the key to understanding the entire concept that Paul is trying to convey.

Eph 5:25 “ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”

I want to implore every husband and father out there who may read this. If you focus on verse 25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her”, and live to bring it to fruition, the rest of it will take care of itself. You would be amazed at the turnaround in your family life that will take place when you take it upon yourself to truly hold your wife in such high esteem. To do so also shows true spiritual leadership which is a husbands primary responsibility to his wife and family.

Here is the clincher:

EPH 5:28-30 "In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body.

Until next time, may the LORD bless us and keep us, In Jesus name I pray.