Devotion 1: Just As Christ Loved the Church
Chris Montville
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:25-27
Do you ever feel a weight for something that you will have to answer for? If you are in school and you did not do your homework, when the homework is due, there is a weight that should set in. You know that you are going to be held accountable for not completing it. If you are working, when you have a deadline approaching and you are not on pace to meet that deadline, you feel that weight.
One day, we will all be held accountable for our actions. Thankfully, through the payment Jesus paid on the cross, we will not stand condemned as guilty for falling short of God's perfect standard. However, the Bible is still pretty clear that our actions will be judged to some extent (2 Corinthians 5:10).
When I began attending The River Church, at our Waterford location, I joined the Young Adult ministry. At the time, it was being run by a man who is now a deacon. I remember several times this man would tell us, "I will be responsible to God for my treatment of my wife." He wanted the next generation to know this, and he was making the same point in this passage from Ephesians chapter 5: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).
Our culture does not hold marriage to the standard that Christians should. Men, we are called to love our wives just as Christ loved the church. The same way Christ sacrificed His life on the cross for the church, is the same type of love that we are meant to show our wives. That's a lot of love! "So that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" Ephesians 5:27.
Husbands, how often are we helping our wives strive to be holy and without blemish? Please hear me: this does not mean to hold them to an unrealistic "perfect" standard, but rather, to cultivate a space where they can grow in their relationship with the Lord, and encourage their spiritual growth. Is that a priority for us? The call for the husband to love his wife self-sacrificially as Christ did for the church is a big, serious, and daunting task. However, it is one that we cannot avoid. We must set that example for not only our wives, but also for our children so that the next generation can see what a Christ-centered marriage truly looks like.
Foundational Family Blueprint Activity
Memory Verse
Memorize the following verse, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5:25