Submission

And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. ~ Ephesians 5:21-33

I was asked to post this verse this morning and since I didn't come up with anything to blog about in my daily readings, I thought this would be good. So many times the verses about a wife submitting to her husband are taking out of context of this entire passage. Husbands are also called to love their wives as they love their own bodies - that is a LOT of love. And to love their wives as Christ loved the church - that is EVEN more love. I remember a pastor one time was preaching on this verse and he recalled a dialogue with a man.

Pastor: Do you love your wife the way Christ loved the church?
Man: Oh yes, I would die for my wife!
Pastor: Yes, but would you vacuum?

That has always stuck in my head. We can say we love someone enough to die for them and we probably do, but it is not often that we are called to literally sacrifice our life for that person. However, we can die to our selfish desires every day for them.

Here is a link to sermon on this passage (different pastor): To Listen. To Download. If those links don't work, visit here and look for "Getting a Handle on Love" on 1/6 & 1/7.