Cherish Your Wife

We've talked for awhile about the requirement for a husband to nourish his wife. But the same verse that calls him to do that also calls him to cherish his wife. Ephesians 5:29 says, "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." We must cherish our wives.

What does it mean to cherish? Surprisingly, that word is used only one other place in the New Testament. It is found in 1st Thessalonians 2:7, where Paul writes, "But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children." The word "cherish" has the idea of tenderly caring for something. The word literally means to warm or heat, like a mother hen would warm her eggs by sitting on them or warm her chicks by hovering over her brood and covering them with her wings and nestling them into the soft feathers of her breast.

A mother hen does that, and a husband must do that for his wife. He protects and cares for her, realizing the value of his wife. We know that comes easy for a mom as she cares for her babies. It should come easy for a husband to care for this special one he loves - his wife. As mom mothers her children, dad must mother their mom.

Added insight comes from the verse we looked at previously. 1st Peter 3:7 taught us about our wives, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered." Giving honor is a form of cherishing. That agrees with the dictionary definition of cherishing which is holding dear, or of clinging to fondly. As men, this is what we are commanded to do. We hold our wives as dear to us. We honor them.

This isn't a feeling. This isn't something we do for our wives if they are worth our honor. This is what we are commanded to do. We honor our wife for the same reason you cherish her. She is the weaker vessel. She needs you. She needs your care. This alone should stir up something inside your belly. This should get your masculine juices flowing. You have a woman you love that needs you. She needs your care. You, as her protector, provider, and priest, are needed.

The word has the idea of providing a warm, safe, secure, and soft place for her. A place with no danger. She must feel safe with you. She must feel that she is a precious treasure to you. She must feel like you are putting her on a pedestal to be admired by you. Women have this as one of their basic needs - the need to be cherished and honored. Only you, husband, can meet that need. Make sure you do.