Scripture:-
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. Proverbs 5:18-19
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. Ephesians 6:25-28
Observation:-
The first Scripture from Proverbs talks about perception:- how a husband should view his wife. A good husband should look at his wife always as a lovely, pleasant wife. It is a choice we must make, how we want to see people. If we see them negatively, our entire outlook of them is negative. If we see them as beautiful, we begin to see the beauty God made within.
The second Scripture from Ephesians is the most direct teaching on how husbands should love their wives. The Apostle Paul exhorts husbands to love their wives to the degree that Jesus Christ loved His church and sacrificed His life for her. Hence, to love one’s wife is to be willing to sacrifice for her. Sacrifice may come in the form of time, money, ego, faithfulness to her alone, service, or any other way but the objective is to help her become as pure, as holy, as perfect as can be.
The attitude of love and sacrifice required is well documented in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is first of all patient. It takes a man great patience to listen to the nagging of an irritated wife. Love is secondly, kind. A man needs to be kind and not judgmental on his wife. Thirdly, Love does not envy. A man must not be possessive and jealous and controlling of his wife.
Also, Love does not boast and it is not proud. A man must not be boastful and put down his wife, but serve her humbly but with quiet strength. The love is not rude. When tired, when nagged, it is easy for a man to be rude to his wife but true love involves controlling one’s emotions so as not to be rude. Love is not self-seeking. Usually, men want to go out, do their own thing all the time but to be not self-seeking means to consider the family as a whole, and try to involve his wife in all the plans that he makes.
Love does not easily anger. A man has to learn to manage his anger in learning to love his wife. When anger rises up, do not respond immediately but release the energy later in a non-harmful way – on a punching bag, on a jog, or some other exercise. Love keeps no records of wrongs. Unforgiveness will ruin any marriage. Like God forgives us, we must learn to wipe the slate clean and start anew completely. It is written that God’s mercies are new every morning and we need to learn to be like that
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. A man needs to realize that his marriage is founded on good things and not wicked, immoral fantasies.
Love always protects. A good husband is always on the lookout to protect his wife and her honor. Love always trusts. A man needs to trust his wife, that she will be faithful to him and honor him. Love always hopes. This is very important. Even though a wife is not perfect and may have many faults, the good husband always has a hope and belief that his wife will become a better person each day. Love always perseveres. No matter how bad a marriage may turn out, and all hope seems gone, love perseveres. The good husband never gives up but keeps praying, keeps trying, keeps hoping for the marriage to reconcile and be good. And finally, Love never fails. At the end, a man must continue to love his wife, in spite of all that may happen, as the wedding vow says “for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part”
Application for husbands:-
1) View your wives as lovely and beautiful
2) Remember love is sacrifice
3) Be patient and kind
4) Do not be envious, boastful or proud
5) Do not be self-seeking, easily angered or rude
6) Keep no record of wrongs
7) Do not delight in evil but rejoice with truth
8) Always protect, always trust, always hope
9) Never give up, love never fails
Prayer for husbands:
Lord, help me to love my wife as you love your church, to see her as the lovely, beautiful partner You have given me. Help me to always love her sacrificially, patiently, kindly, always protecting her and hoping for the very best for her. Help me never give up in becoming a better husband. In Jesus name, Amen.
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