“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:25
My wife, Andrea, and I were married in Waverly, Ohio on May 26, 1996. Some of you are thinking, “They are so young!” and some others may be thinking, “They are so old!” At times we feel a little bit of both. Most of all we feel grateful and very blessed by God.
Marriage is the oldest institution established by God. We can go all the way back to Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to find the first husband and wife – Adam and Eve. In Genesis 2:24 we see they became “one flesh” which means they became a part of each other. In marriage, God designed an intimacy to be between a husband, a wife and God Himself.
Far too many wives and husbands know what it is like to be hurt by one another through emotional or verbal attacks in addition to even more harmful actions. However, this is not how God designed marriage. God wants to use marriage in our lives to help us move from selfishness and hurt to sacrifice and health. This can be done through a relationship with God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
When Jesus Christ is in control of our lives, we seek the blessing and benefit of the other person. We deny ourselves what we want and we seek to love our spouse the way they need. In the end, we both win.
Andrea and I have found this to only come through knowing and applying what the Bible says and being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. Being filled with God’s Spirit simply means that we yield our lives and wills to God’s will and allow His Spirit to control us.
God’s will is always for husbands to love their wives and for wives to respect their husbands. Have we done it perfectly? No. However, both of us know that our commitment to one another for life enables us to lovingly work through the disagreements that occur in our marriage. Because God has forgiven us, we always seek to forgive one another. With this comes a love that grows deeper as time goes on.
We have come to value involving others in helping us improve our marriage; to keep it a priority and growing. FamilyLife is a national organization that has a wealth of information to help create oneness in your marriage. Go to www.familylife.com to hear a radio program or read an article.
Won’t you join us in making your marriage a priority by investing time in it? You will be so glad you did!
