Francis Chan in his book “You and Me Forever” challenges us to look at Ephesians 5:25-27 and love like a man. Lets take a look at His Word:
“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.”
The Scripture tells how. We should love our wives (for you guys not married, pay attention) as Christ loved the Church. Remember, who is the Church? Not that big or small building you go to on Sundays, but you, me, and all those disciples who are following His teachings. Now about that love, we are supposed to be Jesus. Our love for our wives should remind her of Christ. Chan says it best;
“The longer life goes on, the more she should feel like she is married to Jesus. We should be so selfless that it reminds her of the cross. We should have such high standards of purity that she never has reason to doubt our faithfulness.”
Wow. That is a pretty high standard. You are probably saying to yourself, “I would like to love like that but where do I start?” Chan says, it all starts with humility.
“Do you like to win? You are a guy. Sure you do! Do you ever argue with your spouse? If you do and who doesn’t, arguments escalate when we want to be right more than we want to be Christ. OUCH! You make a statement that you know to be true and you hear these comments from your bride, “That sounds stupid? Are you sure?” The chase to the winners circle begins.”
What matters the most: winning the argument or loving like Christ? “How would Christ love her?” you ask. Chan tells us:
“The Bible tells men to love their wives as Christ loved the church. THINK ABOUT THAT. Jesus did not sit in heaven talking about His feelings for us (the Church). His love went way beyond words and feelings. Jesus was all about action. All about sacrifice. Way before we were even born, He has been pursuing us aggressively! He left the glory and comforts of heaven for us. He endured torture and ridicule for us. He endured the Father’s wrath for us. No one will ever love us that much nor endure that much pain for us. He didn’t sit passively in heaven criticizing us. He zealously came after us.”
And He tells we husbands to simply follow His example.
The next time you can sense one of those arguments brewing, think about this; the one who wins arguments between you two is usually the one who acts less like Christ.
What is the single most important moment in our lives? That moment when we meet Jesus face to face.
One of our responsibilities to our mates is to lead her so that moment will go well. Encourage her in her time alone with God. Sacrifice to make sure she has the time. It will mean reminding her not to love the world or the things of the world. Keep her focus eternal. It will mean guiding her towards acts of love that will result in eternal reward.
Have you ever considered your role as a husband in those terms? Maybe it is time you did.
Remember, Blessed are the meek (weakness under control), for they shall inherit the earth.