For Her and Him

Ephesians 5:22-33

Wives and Husbands
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[b] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Reflection of Bee:

Although the above passage seems to be talking more about a marriage relationship, the implication goes beyond that. It talks about true love and submission in a healthy relationship, which can also be applicable to singles.

"We believe that God's purpose for the body of Christ is that it should provide the context for deep and satisfying relationships. Marriage is one context for meeting our needs, but not the only one by God's design."
- FIND OUT WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR YOUR MARRIAGE

The command is for a wife to "submit" to her husband, not so much as to love her husband. Why? Women, by God's design, tend to love their men or husbands without being told when they can feel and see the men's love for them. However, submission might be a bit of a problem when they have more knowledge than their men. Submission and respect also go hand in hand. If the women find it hard to respect their men, it will be hard to submit. Yet women need to learn submission.

As for the men, the command is to "love" their wives. Men have the tendency of falling head-over-heel for their women during courtship or initial marriage. Yet time will tell if the men actually love the women in their lives or it was just some emotional infatuation. Therefore, men need to learn to truly love, just like Christ loves (sacrificial and unconditional).

The love of the men for their women will pave the way for this to happen. Mutual love, submission, and respect are what God wants us to have in a healthy Christian relationship with each other.

Dear Lord,
Teach us, your sons and daughters in Christ, to learn to truly love and submit just like Christ did. Turn our eyes upon Jesus so that we can model after Him. Teach us not to be selfish, but to love unconditionally. Teach us to submit to the authority You have ordained.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.