“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, NIV).

 

     There was an older couple in the church I once served. The wife had an aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis which relegated her to a wheelchair for more than thirty-five years. Bill was his wife’s primary caretaker. He bathed her every morning. He pureed her food and fed her. He tended to her every need. Each Sunday, Bill would bring his wife to church.

     On one particular Sunday before worship, Bill had to gently wipe Coral’s nose. A young couple that had just been married was watching closely. Together, they marveled at the love Bill and Coral shared for one another. In a rather hushed tone, the young bride turned to her newlywed husband and said, “Bill surely took his vows seriously.”

 

     One cannot speak of faith apart from the concept of faithfulness. Today’s Scripture is a practical charge to couples as to how they are to serve one another. Ephesians 5 has been historically misunderstood as a word on the authority of the husband over the wife. (By the way, my wife claims that I have her permission to be the boss. Go figure.) The intent of Paul’s words is to encourage husbands and wives to demonstrate their faithfulness to one another through acts of sacrificial service, just as Jesus demonstrated his faithful love to the world by sacrificing his love on the cross (see Ephesians 5:25).

 

     If there is any power a husband and wife should lord over each other, it is love. Love gives of itself for better or worse. Love operates whether you are rich or poor. Love seeks to care for the other in sickness and in health. Love faithfully serves in all the circumstances of life.

 

Prayer

Lord God, I thank you for the opportunities you give me today to love on the most significant person in my life. Remind me that in serving my spouse I am ultimately serving you. Through Christ I pray. Amen.