As we are readying ourselves for what this new school year may be, Father, it was so nice to get away with my favorite girl for the day! Thank You for keeping us safe and giving us a wonderful day of just being together away from all the craziness heading our way – at least for a little while!
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There is a topic on which I have written numerous times, and that is my role as a husband. You would think after 34 years I would have it down pat, but nope, nowhere close! I think I have come a long way, but I sure have a long way to go!
The Apostle Paul admonishes husbands in Ephesians 5:25-30. Here is verse 25,
Husbands, love your wives [seek the highest good for her and surround her with a caring, unselfish love], just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her… AMP
I pray about my relationship often and when I really focus on my prayers and seek the Lord’s direction, I know I do better. But it is so easy to slip back into the clueless void that many men live in.
Example #1: Karen does a wonderful job of preparing our meals. I should play a bigger part, but my brain far too often steers me to sit at the laptop working on church stuff or to even just lay on the couch reading. Most times I don’t even think about it, though I have to admit that there are times where it crosses my mind to help but it’s a fleeting thought that easily gets shuffled to the bottom of the deck!
It’s not that I should take over but setting the table does not require an advanced degree in Home Economics! I do help her on occasion by doing what I can – grabbing ingredients for the meal from the pantry or the fridge (and putting them back where I found them!), setting the table, carrying the food and drinks to the table, helping clear the table when we are done, etc. Just talking with her as she does her thing would be an act of love!
Example #2: Sometimes we are both guilty of this, but I by far am the more guilty. I am addicted to my phone/tablet! One or the other seems to be permanently attached to my hand! Recently I have been trying to make a point of leaving it to charge while we eat. Often at the end of a long day, we will be in the living room and both of us have our faces in our phones.
Yeah, it has some entertainment value, but what is more important watching full-grown men drop a bowling ball off a dam trying to get it to hit a trampoline far, far below them…or loving my wife. And loving my wife means giving her attention – not just hearing her but listening to her! It means doing things that show her I love and cherish her. She loves to have her back scratched! She likes to have her shoulders massaged – and those things need to be done with no strings attached! No paybacks should be expected!
I inserted the quote from Ephesians specifically from the Amplified Bible because it fills out Paul’s directive, giving us no excuse as to what we men should be doing.
Love is not just a note we jot down on a birthday or anniversary card or a word that comes out of our mouths on occasion. It is an action word! Loving our wives means seeking the highest good for her. We’re not necessarily talking monetary value here. She deserves, first and foremost, the best of us that we can give her!
Our unselfish love should show itself in how we treat her, how we think about her, where we place her on our list of priorities. Oh, now I might be stepping on some toes. Is my wife more important than my downtime activities? …than the things that I feel are necessary to let off steam?
Men, we are called to love our wives as Christ also loved the church. And how did He do that? He gave Himself up for her…
The New Living Translation puts it like this, He gave up his life for her. Paul goes on to say we should love our wives in the same way we love ourselves.
Do you love golf? Love your wife more. Do you love reading? Love your wife more. Do you love work? Please…love your wife more. You love your phone, and your friends, and your free time? Please, please…love your wife more.
Lord Jesus, help us to, first of all, lift up our wives in prayer – they need it. And may we sacrifice ourselves on Your altar, giving up our selfish desires and giving ourselves over to loving our wives as we should. Amen.
Sept 2nd, 2020, Tue, 8:34 pm
