The Joy in Marriage

“Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Ephesians 5:22-31

A major contributor to the failure of marriages, even Christian marriages, is the extension of a self-centered lifestyle. Through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, we become accustomed to meeting our needs, fulfilling our career goals, satisfying our desires. Marriage does not automatically change our individualistic bent. We expect our mates to continue meeting our demands and are disappointed when they cannot deliver.

We can be freed from such expectations when we realize that only God can meet all our needs. Frustration is inevitable if we expect our mates to satisfy our every longing. Husbands and wives are finite creatures with limited emotional, spiritual, and physical resources. But God is infinite, able to touch our lives at every point.

When husband and wife both seek supremacy, everyone loses. When they build up each other, everyone wins. Each works and prays for the welfare of the other, creating a rich spiritual soil for a beautiful relationship. Look to God first to meet your deepest needs. Secure in Him, launch out to encourage your spouse. You will sow the seeds of marital bliss.

“Love is patient...bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4, 7