Ephesians 5:31-33
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Joyce and I met as high school freshmen and immediately knew that we belonged together. Of course, it is not reasonable for fifteen-year olds to get married (or even sixteen or seventeen year olds). When we were eighteen and had just graduated from high school, we were married. That was July 10, 1952.
That same year, hundreds of miles away, there was another couple who had only known each other for two weeks when they were married. In both instances our marriages have been blessed by the Lord.
Still other couples were living in societies where their life mates were chosen for them. They were arranged marriages. I have come to realize that it is not the length of courtship that determines a healthy marriage — it is following the mandate of Scripture and becoming one flesh.
Earlier in Ephesians five, the husband is told to love his wife in the same way that Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. That means loving sacrificially. Here at the close of the chapter, Paul tells husbands to love their wives as they love themselves. Husbands, we are the ones to initiate pure love in the marriage. We say we love our wife and we are the one to die for her. That is something for the wife to respect! That is what being one flesh is all about. How do you measure up?
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil