Day 14 – Christ as the standard of love

“𝘏𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳.” 𝘌𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 5:25

The standard for love is set by the love Jesus Christ has for His church. As Christians, husbands are called to reflect that love — the sacrificial, unconditional love that Jesus exemplified. This love points the husband to the highest example of love, Christ’s love for the church.

In response, wives are called to support and encourage their husbands in loving us in this sacrificial manner. Love, as modelled by Christ, is sacrificial. Husbands are to love their wives selflessly, and we, as wives, need to assist our husbands to love us, but we cannot do this on our own. We need the Holy Spirit to guide, teach, and empower us to become the godly wives and helpers God desires us to be. It is through the Holy Spirit’s work that we can truly reflect Christ’s love and support our husbands in their spiritual walk.

As Christian women, we often have expectations of what our husbands should be like, forgetting that God is shaping us into the image of Christ through our marriage. Unfortunately, sometimes we resist this process or forget that marriage is a sanctification journey, an opportunity for both of us to become more like Christ in unity. It may take years of God’s refining process, and the road can be difficult.

Prayer: Father, help me to embrace the sanctification journey of marriage. Teach me to encourage my husband to love sacrificially and guide me by Your Spirit to reflect Christ’s love in our home. Amen. ©

Marie Swanepoel