"However, let each one of you *love his wife as himself,* and let the wife see that *she respects her husband.”*
Ephesians 5:3
Paul's letter to the Ephesians, in the Bible implored wives as: "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. *For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church,* his body, of which he is the Saviour.
If you've studied biblical marriage, you will know that *husbands need respect from their wives.* As Ephesians 5:33 instructs.
Fathers are the custodians of the health and wellness of the family. He stands in the gap as the high priest of his family lifting up Holy Hands onto God in prayer for family, church and country 24/7. You dishonour or disrespect the father and you have disrespected the family and by extension the church and the country.
A father loves, honours and cherishes his wife. You dishonour or disrespect a man's wife and you have disrespected and dishonoured him. He will fight back. A man looks up to God and any other man he sees as a role model. He fights anyone who stands toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball and looks him in the eye with disrespect and loves the one who looks up to him with respect and honour. A wife who dishonours her husband or a woman who disrespects a father figure has dishonoured and disrespected respectively her head and is exposed to abuse by predators.
As a wife *you need to respect your husband for who he is, what he does, his choices, dreams and everything about him. ...* Respect is *the basic foundation of every husband-wife relationship.* You need to show respect not just in front of others but also in your personal space and in your mind as well.
It is the wife's responsibility to help the husband become all that God wants him to be and vice versa, in the same way that God helps us become who He wants us to be. In Ephesians 5:33, the bible commands wives to respect their husbands. This means *revering, admiring and honoring their husbands.*
Submission in marriage is *a spirit of respect a wife has toward her husband.* It is an attitude intended to help her and her husband *to live a more contentful, peaceful life together.*
Here are ways to love your husband according to the Bible:
Respect your husband. ...
Fulfill your marital duties to him. ...
Be trustworthy. ...
Be praiseworthy. ...
Be always kind to your husband. ...
Take care of your home. ...
Protect your home. ...
Preserve your dignity for him....
Be a wise woman and inspire kindness to your husband and children....
Do not put him to shame...
Stop nagging and avoid petty fights...
Do not let your anger continue for another day...
Talk and act with care. Always think of the future consequences...
Surrender your body to your husband. Do not cheat...
Give him the opportunity and privilege to lead as a man...
Love him truly...
Men, please note that you MUST LOVE her to elicit these reciprocal gesture from her. Love preceeded respect on the cross. Christ first loved us by laying down His life through His vicarious death. So, go out there and love her to bring out these virtues in her.
The father MUST be successful in raising a healthy and well balanced family. If he fails the church will suffer and be malnourished. He must be respected, honoured and assisted to succeed in raising a healthy family.
When he succeeds in raising a healthy, a socially balanced and spiritually tuned wife and children the church thrives. His wife and children will turn to God and take up active roles in the Body of Christ.
He has a critical role in building and growing the church and his country in partnership with the Holy Spirit by raising the family unit successfully.
Bro Ritchie Edukwesi WOANYA
