I think the Husband should love his wife the way Christ loves the Church.

Failure, disappointment, or betrayal from any loved one is always difficult to manage. But when a husband is abused and according to experts there are many, many husbands suffering silently then what do they do? Where do they turn? How do they raise their complaint? Do they just ‘take it like a man’? No not at all. All forms of abuse are wrong and the victim rescued.

As I have done throughout the last few days on this sensitive issue of husbands and wives I acknowledge the hurt that husbands have had when their wives are not being who they should be.

However, I still believe that what the Apostle says is true:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  Ephesians 5 v 25

With the Husband’s model being Jesus Christ then it is easy to see how they are called to love their wives as Christ loves the Church.

And again for any single men, relationships and marriage is not the utopia, relationship with Christ is. Your relationship with Christ is more important than if you haven’t got a relationship with a woman.

How does Christ love the Church?

1. Christ loves first. He came to and for us. He initiated and participated which is the meaning of the word submission.
2. Christ’s love is the destination. Christ didn’t just come to take us into eternity though that is our destination. The prayer of Jesus in John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” His love brings us into the experience of knowing Him.
3. Christ’s love is not necessarily reciprocal. It is not coming based on the discovery of beauty or value, but it comes out of its own nature.
4. Christ’s love never disappears. At all times and in all circumstances the love of Christ flows so that nothing can separate us from it other than we choose not to abide in it.
5. Christ’s love heals the wounds. To be healed is to a) know we are loved; b) know we belong; c) know how to live for Him.
6. Christ’s love is replicated. We love Him and we love others because we have received love. We are not thinking of ourselves. We mirror Him.

This is how Christ loves the Church.

This is what we must see in the Husbands.