Top 2 Things I've Learned About Relationships/Marriage
- It's all about love & respect! "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “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." ~Ephesians 5:22-33~ It's clear to many, that men and women are different. Similarly, the way men and women feel loved are different as well. We can see this perfectly in Ephesians 5:22-33. In these verses, the husband feels most loved when he is respected by his wife. The wife feels loved when she is cared for by her husband. The husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the church. Conversely, the wife is to submit to and respect her husband. Submit is not used here in a negative context. Submitting to your husband, is not out of force, but is an action done out of free will and love. Because the wife loves her husband, she will respect him, support him, follow him, thus allowing him to be head/leader of the marriage relationship/household. The husband's love for his wife makes it easier for the wife to respect her husband. In the same way, her respect for her husband makes it easier for him to love her. These verses have definitely shaped our marriage relationship. It's our model for what a healthy marriage relationship looks like. It's also a clear explanation as to why your "love-tank" may be running on empty.
- Never stop dating each other! One thing that I've learned about relationships, especially within marriages, is that dating each other should never stop. As you get older, have children, and life gets crazy, it's vital for husbands & wives to focus back on each other. Scheduling a date night once a week will help you to focus on your relationship, grow together, learn from each other, create new memories, and simply have fun with one another! Writing love letters, poems, creating date-night-ins, etc., can also show/remind your husband or wife just how much you love him or her. Your relationship with your husband or wife, is the second most important relationship in your life, the first being your relationship with Your Lord and Savior! The marriage relationship takes special care, work, and time for it to be healthy and strong!
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| Raymond & I - August 2007 |
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