Topic: Cause And Effect [Monday July 10, 2017]
Text: Ephesians 5:21-33
Key Verse: “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband” (Ephesians 5:33).
A story is told of a very poor man who lived with his wife whose hair was so long that it touched her waist. One day, she asked her husband to buy her a comb for her long hair so it could be well groomed. The man felt sorry and said he did not have money even to fix the strap of his wrist watch which had just broken. The wife did not insist.
On his way to work, he sold his watch at a low price and bought the comb. When he came back that evening, he was surprised to see her with very short hair. She had cut and sold her hair and bought a new watch for her husband. Tears flowed simultaneously from their eyes, not because of the futility of their actions but for the reciprocity of their love. Our text likens the relationship between the husband and his wife to the relationship between Christ and the Church.
The husband is also commanded to love his wife as Christ loves the Church. These divine prescriptions are necessary frameworks for a successful marriage, not a mere checklist to use in evaluating one another’s performance. It gives couples a clear directive as to the roles to perform in order to achieve the desired objective of marriage. A nagging wife would only make a ‘naughty’ husband. Hence, the woman is called upon to submit to and respect her husband even as Sarah who called Abraham Lord (1 Pet 3:1-6). Likewise, while the husband is expected to respond practically as a servant-leader just like Christ, ready to make sacrifices for the benefit of his wife. This will be possible when there is mutual respect for one another between the couples.
Under the influence of a positive spirit, the wife easily takes deep pleasure in joyful submission to her “own husband in everything”. The ‘charming’ influence of such heart-warming attitude naturally provokes the husband to a life of sacrificial willingness to go the extra mile, in ensuring that she is well fulfilled in the relationship. Both parties should, however, be careful to get rid of caterpillars of true love – selfishness, pretence, deception, competitive spirit, lack of openness, taking advantage of the other and infidelity. These will only destroy mutual love.
Thought for the day: Success in marriage is more than finding the right person; it is being the right person.
Bible Reading in one Year: Genesis 29-31
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
