May the mumbling commence!
By nature, love occurs in relationships. There is a section in Ephesians that deals specifically with relationships among people. Today, I want to look at the portion that devotes itself to the relationship of marriage.
Marriage is vital. Marriage is a sign of the relationship between Christ and the Church – Christ being the bridegroom and the Church being the bride. Read from Ephesians chapter five (from Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrase):
Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.
Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ.
The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church – a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor – since they're already "one" in marriage.
No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband. (Verses 21-33)
In our relationships, love takes form in courteousness and reverence. Love seeks to understand rather than to be understood. (Thank you, Saint Francis of Assisi!) Love supports others. Love leads by cherishing rather than manipulation.
Love is all in. Love is not about getting. Love is about giving. Love seeks to make its subject whole and holy.
These marks of love should be evident in a marriage between husband and wife. The relationship of husband and wife should be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the Church. To love our spouse in this way is to love ourselves, because in marriage God has made us one flesh.
What a lot to live up to!
Here is a challenge to all married couples: Try to find a way today to give something special to your spouse. Have you accomplished that today? Good! Then repeat – for your entire life.
Give!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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