A Husband's Sacrificial Love

Speaking to husbands, we left off last time saying that true Biblical leadership is servant leadership. For the husband to love his wife as Christ loves the church is to call on the husband to love his wife enough to die for her. Wow! Is that serious or what? But husbands can't bail out if that sounds too tough. We covered that before; marriage is intended to be until death do you part. That's the commitment that you made before God and to your wife on the day of your wedding. There is no going back on your word - no exit for a too tough marriage - just because you want out. This is the one woman - the only woman - you can legally live with and sleep with. You had better learn to make it work. But how?

Ephesians 5:25 tells you how, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." We are to love just as Christ, and He loved with a sacrificial love. That's the kind of love that is required of us. It is the agape love of God - an unconditional love that gives and gives without expecting anything in return. This is a love that will go any distance, make any sacrifice, even to the point of dying for the one we love. And that means we keep on loving whether or not the one we love ever responds or ever returns our love. That is the love of Christ.

But if you love your wife enough to die for her, you will certainly love her enough to live for her. You will want the very best for her. By saying that, I'm not talking about diamonds and mink coats or about driving around in a Mercedes Benz or living in a mansion. Who ever said that those were the best anyway?

What this is talking about can best be illustrated by the command in Philippians 2:3-4:

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

That is how agape love loves. That is the love of God. That is the love that is required from all of us to one another within the church. How much more is it required towards that one woman we have chosen from all the women in the world to love, marry, and live with. Certainly you will want to provide your home with that same atmosphere of love.

If you do, your wife will live within an environment in which she can grow and blossom - she can grow in her spiritual maturity to become the woman God wants her to be and the woman you will want to live with. At times this kind of love must say "No!" when what she wants isn't best. It might mean guiding you and her into some new priorities. But your number one priority after God is her. Her needs are paramount. Replacing the broken washing machine will become a higher priority to you then getting your new boat, for instance, because you love her sacrificially. Do you love your wife like that? Do you love her as Christ loved the church?