His and Hers
Ephesians 5:22-23 "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."
I remember washing our first load of laundry in our new home. My wonderful, new husband was helping me fold towels. He wanted to fold the towels one way, and I wanted to fold them another way. Needless to say, it all went down hill from there. Neither way was technically wrong, but sides had been taken and the battle was intense! There came a point where we had to sit down like rational human beings and decide which method of towel folding was "best" for our new home. We can look back now and laugh about it, but I remember thinking even then how something so trivial could have become a stepping stone to bitterness and resentment in our marriage.
Ephesians 5:22-23 presents two analogies to help us understand our God-given roles in marriage.
husband: wife as Christ: church
and
wife: husband as church: Christ
The husband is to be the head of the wife just like Christ is the head of the church.
The wife is to be subject to the husband just like the church is to Christ.
In the fallen, sinful world that we live in both of these pictures are often warped, but that does not mean that God's Word or His plan for our lives has changed.
His Responsibility-
- Be the head of the home (like Christ)
- Love his wife (like Christ) Eph. 5:25
- as his own body
- nourish and cherish her
- be one flesh
Her Responsibility-
- Be subject (Yeah, that means submit!)
- to your own husband (as unto the Lord, like the church is supposed to be) Eph. 5:22
- Be one flesh (leave and cleave) Eph. 5:31
- Reverence your husband Eph. 5:33
- respect him
- don't waste time humiliating him, degrading him, and complaining to others
- build him up with praise (Prov. 31:23)
- listen to his advice/seek it
- accept his final word in decision making
- pray for him to be a godly leader in your home
- pray for your own attitude to line up with God's Word
Eye to Eye Q&A- How do you measure up your God-given responsibilities?
The world's image of the home so often degrades the role of the husband to the point that we are tempted to believe that our lives were meant to be in the same constant state of turmoil that we see around us. Men are portrayed on television as being simple, inefficient, lazy, womanizing, selfish, etc., which is far from the Biblical image of the leader of the home. It's time to change your WORLDVIEW! God's commands to us as husband and wife are not based on conditional "if/then" circumstances. God expects us to obey His Word.What areas of God-given responsibility toward your husband do you struggle with the most? Get it settled today!
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