Love And Respect

One evening a husband returned from work and found his home cluttered and un-kept. 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 woman 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 affects 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 a man takes this obligation seriously, he will be concerned about his spiritual, mental and physical well-being by developing his relationship with God, putting “good things” into his mind and caring for his body. These are the right things to do. And as he cares for himself, he must – and will willingly – also care for his wife the same way. A wife knows that her husband cares for her if he cares for himself as God intended him to and wants the same – what is best in God’s eyes – for her. Respect for the husband comes naturally and freely when the wife knows she is being cared for the way God intended.

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 for Today: 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.