Husbands, love your wives…This passage has probably strengthened, saved, helped and blessed our marriage over these past 22 years more than any other. The reason? Jeff has been a great example of these four words. If I ever had the chance to talk to a room full of newlywed husbands and they wanted to know the million-dollar secret to an amazing marriage…I'd say these four words: "Husbands, love your wives."
(Eph. 5:25, NKJV)
I know…some are thinking…"Yeah, but what about all the verses for wives…" It's true; there are numerous verses for the wives - for sure! We could talk about the passages that tell wives how to behave, admire, respect, submit…and all the rest. As women, we ought to take heed to those passages. BUT...
There is something divine and godly when a husband loves his wife—and gives himself for her. It's so Christ-like and in some cases, so rare. It's a huge mystery and I don't really understand it. I just know that being married to a man that loves like Christ makes marriage awesome.
Jesus loves us this way. We love Him because he first loved us; it's that way in marriage. We didn't initiate our love affair with the Lord…He did! We responded to His love. When a husband loves his wife first or "initiates" love towards her—consistently—she begins to believe she is loved and she "responds" by returning love! Jesus was the love initiator and we are love responders. Husbands are to be love initiators and wives will be love responders.
Today, does your marriage need a booster shot? Husbands…love your wives! Wives…respond to his love!
Say This:
Father, I thank You for my husband/wife ______________. (If you are not married, pray for a married couple you know.) Help me to be the spouse you have called me to be. (If you are a husband…say this:) Help me to love my wife in ways that truly minister to her and honor You. Help me to understand her love language and be the husband You have called me to be. (If you are a wife, say this:) Help me to respond to my husband in ways that truly minister to him and honor You. Help me to understand his love language and be the wife You have called me to be. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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As a young couple, fresh out of Bible School with Two daughters and a third child on the way, Jeff and Beth Jones felt God's call to pioneer Valley Family Church in 1991 with a vision to make an eternal difference in Southwest Michigan. As a husband and wife team, they have always led together as visionary pastors and have shared the pulpit as Bible teachers. They are passionate about building the local church in greater Kalamazoo and the global church around the world. 
