COMMANDED TO LOVE!

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

A second thing to notice is that when Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives,” he puts it in the imperative. It is a command! It may be important to notice that he does not speak to the wife in any imperatives in verses 22-24. He does not use a command when he tells Christian wives to offer their submission to their husbands. It is completely voluntary! But Christian husbands are commanded to love their wives! How in the world did we ever get to the point in our view of marriage where we thought we could demand submission from our wives? If anything, our wives would be on firmer ground if they reminded us that Paul commanded us to love them! Men, how serious is this? We cannot afford to take this command lightly!

We are fallen, sinful men. How are we supposed to love our wives this way? Most of us weren’t raised this way. Our culture doesn’t promote this kind of loving relationship. How can we swim against the current and be so different from the world? Paul has already told us how we can do it. He told us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The only hope we have is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and let him guide us in our marriages. Let him show us how we are supposed to love our wives and treat them gently. Do you want to know if the Holy Spirit is working in your life? One way you can tell is by looking at the way you love your wife! If you are loving her like Christ loved the church then you can be assured that the Holy Spirit is doing his good work in you!

(This series is being simulposted at Bluecollar where most of the discussion is taking place. Please use the link in the sidebar.)