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

In Japanese, this is one of the most familiar passages in the whole Bible for me, because I use it every time I do counseling before the weddings I perform. I have it memorized! That said, as I tell such couples, we often fail to have a grasp of just how Christ loved the Church. Since the vast majority of the couples I marry aren’t yet Christians, I generally skip over verses 26 and 27, because they would make no sense to such people, but I do quote verse 28 to them, saying that husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. Paul says in verse 29 that no one ever hated their own flesh, but recently the devil has been having shocking success at getting people to do exactly that, convincing them they were “born in the wrong body.” All that aside, the subject of the love between a husband and wife is a deep one that is related to the Church to a degree that few people really grasp. Many of the problems in Church history have stemmed from breakdowns in marriage in different cultures and periods, and vice versa. Today, I think many of the apostate churches have come out of the “Women’s Liberation Movement.” When women refuse to respect their husbands (verse 33), churches fail to respect and obey Christ. Our lives are intertwined to a degree we generally fail to recognize. However, looking over the past 100 years of American history should make it very clear that the breakdown in the family has been paralleled by a breakdown in faith and the Church.

Cathy and I were both raised by parents whose relationship was exemplary, and who also loved the Lord and served Him wholeheartedly. It was watching my parents that made me want to get married at 20! As I tell couples, I consider marriage to be the biggest job of my life, but the one that carries the greatest rewards. I know that I don’t love my wife perfectly, but I try! There were many miracles involved in the creation of the Bible as we know it, but I think one of the bigger ones what that this passage was written by Paul, who never married! He could only know these truths by divine revelation, and perhaps observation of some couples, such as Priscilla and Aquilla. Cathy’s and my relationship is admirable to the point of being shocking to many of our friends, and I am grateful. I hurt for other couples at times as I see some of their difficulties, but then, they probably see the imperfections in our relationship as well. I seek to keep improving our relationship for as long as we are in this life, knowing that it will be perfected in the next.

Father, thank You for this reminder, and for the wonderful marriage You have given me. May we continue to be an example and inspiration to all who know us, for their blessing and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!