June 16 - Ephesians 5:25 (A)

Husbands, love your wives,

just as Christ loved the church

and gave himself up for her

Ephesians 5:25

^NIV

 

Yesterday, I re-translated this passage as “Husbands, give everything for you wife.”

 

What percent is that? 100%.

 

I’m sure you’ve heard me say in the course of these devotionals that some people say that marriage is fifty-fifty. No! It’s 100-100! (After all, do you want your spouse to give only 50%?)

 

As we gradually move toward an enlivening understanding of Ephesians 5:22 – the role of women – we first need to comprehend the role of men in marriage. And Ephesians 5:25 points us all – men and women – back toward that time-honored secret to discovering “JOY” – we should spell a more joyful life, “Jesus, Others, You.”

 

“I Am Third.” That was the title of the famous autobiography by Chicago Bears star, Gale Sayers. He wrote it after standing on the brink of being the greatest running back in history … and falling suddenly off that precipice when he suffered a catastrophic knee injury.

 

“I am third” – Jesus, others, then me – should become our motto for our spiritual, psychological, and marital health.

 

·         If God’s not first, nothing in life will ever make complete sense. He is our compass, our strength, and our light. And we need him because we will occasionally – yet inevitably – be lost, weak, and in the dark!

 

·         If other people are not second, we will become selfish … and proud … and demanding. We will think the world revolves around us. We will think the world owes us a living. We will act like victims. We will refuse to take responsibility.

 

·         “I am third.” That may be the title of a sports book. But it’s ultimately the way that Scripture teaches us to live our lives. Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, that one should lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13) That’s what Jesus said. Then that’s what Jesus did.

 

And that’s the call of marriage too. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

 

Question: Men and women, in what areas of life and marriage are you selfish and demanding? In order to discover more joy, what will it take for you to prioritize God and others (especially your beloved) in your life?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy whose spelling is improving

(the more mature I get,

the more I’m learning

to spell “love”

e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g)