“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.” (Ephesians 5:25)
So, how did Christ love the church? Who is the church? We are the church. Christ loved us so much; He laid down His own life to save us. This love is the greatest that is known (please refer to John 15:13).
The Bible states in Proverbs 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD.” I joke around with my husband reminding him that I’m his “good thing”. As a husband feels appreciated and loved by his wife, he is more likely to bless her in return. Likewise, when a wife is feeling loved and cherished she too is more likely to want to bless her husband.
If a husband wants his wife to submit to him and respect him, she is likely going to need to feel loved. I learned to recognize that people show love in different ways. While I may buy my husband a thoughtful gift because that is how I feel loved, my husband may just want to spend time with me, because that’s how he feels loved. My husband shows his love for me specifically by trusting me, giving me a break after a long day with the kids, making dinner occasionally, going to work daily and being a loyal employee, driving around when we go somewhere (because he knows I prefer not to)…
For any husbands out there that may be reading this, I hope you will think about what ways your wife shows her love to you. Consider what you could do even today to show your love for her. Your act of love doesn’t need to cost money. What about, for example, sending a free e-card to her email just telling her she’s precious to you?
“Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33)
There are so many books out there on relationships and what women want. I believe the Bible is the most clear in showing what women want. We want to be loved. We want to know that we’re a “good thing” in our husband’s life.
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Scripture references are quoted from the NKJV.