Love and Respect

So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:23 NLT

Love and Respect

This isn’t an original thought. I heard it from Dr James Dobson on his radio program Focus on the Family years ago.  He said, “A woman’s greatest need is love from their husbands, and husbands greatest need is respect from their wives.”

This resonates deeply with most married individuals, and for good reason. It’s not a product of modern psychology, a new revelation, or a mere opinion. It’s a timeless wisdom, a Biblical Truth, that has guided marriages for centuries.

Marriages fall apart when this Love and Respect are not offered.  When a man doesn’t demonstrate love to his wife, the marriage dies! When a wife doesn’t demonstrate respect for her husband, the marriage dies! The two cannot become one without this essential truth.  And notice – there is no provision for “deserving.”

Final thought: Is it possible that this brief description of marriage is a type, an example, of the nature of our relationship with God?  He is the husband we are to respect, and we are the spouse who is showered with love?  Is it possible?  And then, does this truth apply to both relationships equally?  Who created the idea of marriage? The previous verse reads, Ephesians 5:32 NLT “This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.”

Father God, we thank You for the unlimited love You have already poured out on us. Help us, Lord, to do our part, to properly respect You!

You have been so Good to me

Paul Baloche