"However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband" ~ Ephesians 5:33
These words by Paul come at the end of a long section in which he commands husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church - which means sacrifice, service, and godly leadership - and he commands wives to submit to their husbands. This picture of a godly marriage is what God had intended when He first brought Adam and Eve together. Sadly, as soon as sin entered the world, marriage was greatly impacted, and the two who were brought together in perfect unity and matrimony then saw every imperfection as a reason to point the finger and blame. Instead of mutual submission, love, and respect, marriage became full of discord, tension, and battling for control. Thus, it has become one of Satan's great breeding grounds for sowing destruction in society. Yet, the problem is not with the institution of marriage. It was created in perfection, and the only way to return to God's plan for it is to - no big surprise here - turn back to God! This week at Friendship, we'll talk about working out our salvation with fear and trembling in the area of marriage, and we'll focus on the picture of "The Three-Stranded Cord", with God holding husband and wife together. If you are married, have ever been married, or might be married someday, you don't want to miss this message.
