Love And Respect

One evening a husband returned from work and found his home cluttered and unkempt. Calling to his wife he asked, “What on earth happened today?”

“Well,” she responded, “every evening when you arrive home you ask, ‘What did you do all day?’ Well, now you know.”

When a man and women become husband and wife, a unique relationship is formed: the two become one. And when the two are merged into one, a unique union is formed. From then on, whatever effects one certainly affects the other. It is as if there is no seam.

Paul said that “each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” We know that a man loves himself if he takes care of himself as one who was created in God’s image for God’s glory. If he takes this responsibility seriously, he will strive to develop his spiritual, physical and emotional gifts. As he cares for himself, he must also care for his wife the same way. That is the way God demands that a man love his wife and the only way a wife will know that her husband truly loves her. When this occurs, respect follows naturally.

Prayer: Lord, we pray that in our homes and in our lives we will live this love that comes from You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture: Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.